Angels in Japan
by Angel of the Quill
Summary: When kick ass secret agent Angel, is sent on seemingly simple recon mission of a hotel that's supposed to be running a secret black market auction, she is surprised at the twist her story takes when she meets the gorgeous but cold and dangerous Soryu Oh. Will her forbidden love develop in these dangerous situations? Please leave a review Currently undergoing editing and updating.
1. Chapter 1

Kissed By the Baddest Bidder Fanfiction- Soryu Oh X OC. Disclaimer: All rights and characters apart from Angel belong to Voltage inc.

I have edited and slightly rewritten this story to improve it and edit out grammar mistakes and typos.

Angel stormed out of the office at Interpol headquarters, Hong Kong. One little mistake and before she could blink she'd gotten demoted. Really, what difference does it make if she'd blown up the warehouse she was supposed to be reconning- they were all bad guys anyway. I mean, sure the media had a field day and the agency got in a little trouble, but it wasn't completely her fault: the weapons dealer had pissed her off. Who was he to say that a 5ft 2" girl couldn't kick some serious ass? Well, she sure showed him.

Though she was only 25, Angel had quickly risen to the top of her profession as a world class spy, sought after by several secret organization; ranging from her native MI6 to the American CIA and, currently, Interpol. Driven by a fierce passion, she ploughed her way through the dangers and horrors thrown at her by her career and soon came to be respected by several of the most imminent leaders and agents of clandestine organizations across the globe. Nevertheless, her fiery, rebellious attitude meant she had a penchant for getting into trouble and a serious disregard of the rules.

Now, her boss had finally decided she needed to be taken down a peg and had assigned her to a mission in Japan: reconning a hotel that was rumoured to have a secret black market auction running behind the façade of an International VIP Convention that invites some of the world's most prominent personalities and celebrities to a party hosted at Tres Spades.

Angel walked into her office throwing a file onto her desk. A man sitting on a couch in the office winced as the glass door slammed behind her.

"Got in trouble again, eh?" he asked with the smirk.

"Wipe that stupid grin off your face, Xhang, or I'll wipe it off for you!" Angel snapped venomously. Though she hated to let her cool, harsh facade slip, today she was fuming. She made her way to the couch and grabbed a mug of coffee out of Xhang's hand as he hesitantly offered it to her. She sighed and cooled her temper before apologizing,

"Forgive me, Xhang, I'm just furious! How could they demote me like that? I'm one of their best bloody agents! This is simply _humiliating_: I've been moved from running missions involving the world's most notorious Drug barons and Mafia to reconning a simple black market recon. It's effectively a babysitting job. I have a very specifically honed skill set, that the blasted Director ought to know better than to waste on such ridiculous missions!" As she vented her anger out, her friend Xhang Wei nodded sympathetically. After she'd transferred from London to Hong Kong, Xhang had been her partner and first friend in China. They'd worked together for almost a year now and as they had quickly discovered- nothing builds trust or friendship quicker than being thrust into life threatening situations where your only support is each other.

"Well, I get that you are pretty upset about this, but in my eyes it isn't really that much of a "demotion"- I mean, there are many agents here that would kill for an opportunity like this. The IVC is one of the biggest, dirtiest and most scandalous affairs running in Japan: it's going to be quite exciting." He said in an effort to cheer her up. Personally, he'd jump at the opportunity to work on such a vital mission, but he knew that for her status the job was a bit of a step down.

"That's not even the worst part- just to make things more demeaning, my cover is as a maid working in the Tres Spades! I've never done any house work in my life- I'll make a total fool of myself at the new job." She fretted, already missing the life of luxury she'd become unhealthily accustomed to living.

"Come now, surely you'll enjoy the challenge?"

"Trust me, after the missions I'm used to, this will be more akin to babysitting than a real mission." She retorted matter-of-factly. She wasn't vain but she knew her assets and the full extent of her skills, should she choose to unleash them. She hadn't thrown herself heart and body into her work over the last five years to have her career come to a stalemate like this. Somewhere in the back of her mind, Angel was aware of that she may be overreacting, but her Boss's imperious attitude and high-and-mighty air had rubbed her the wrong way. She'd thrown the last mission more to get on his nerves than to retaliate at that unfortunate weapons dealer. Gulping down the last of her coffee, she stood up to leave.

"Well, I have to go pack- I'm leaving tomorrow. I'll miss you Xhang, it's been great working with you." She said, truly apologetic for having to leave such a great and witty friend.

In her profession, she didn't get to make many friends- mostly just enemies and she was sad to have to leave them so soon.

As she packed up her bags, she sighed. She really would have to learn to control that temper of hers if she wanted to stay at the top. Zipping up her bags, she picked up her keys and took a last look at her luxurious, penthouse apartment. It'd be a while before she got the chance to return to such a luxurious space. Now, she'd better get used to the idea of living as a maid. Oh well, at least she wouldn't be sleeping in the mud or in trenches. _"Good bye China, hello Japan._" She thought to herself as she stepped out into the hallway, dragging a small suitcase behind her. As she made her way to the airport, little did she know that her tedious mission was about to suddenly get a hell of a lot more interesting.


	2. Chapter 2

Angel woke up, stretching languidly, and looked around at the now-familiar surroundings of her dormitory in Tres Spades. A few weeks ago, she had arrived in Japan and easily secured a job as a maid for regular guests in the hotel. Getting up, she walked over to the lockers where she was met with a bright smile from her co-worker.

"Good morning." Angel said, swinging open the door to her locker.

"Morning Angel," Sakiko greeted her happily. Angel hadn't used a cover name, being certain that merely using her codename was protection enough.

These guys were amateurs; not potent enough to pose any real threat to her and certainly not skilled enough to uncover her real name. The name that she hadn't used in nearly five years.

"The VIP convention starts today! I'm so pumped!" Sakiko continued excitedly and it was all Angel could do to not roll her eyes at her.

Sakiko had been her first and only friend at Tres Spades and she did not want to compromise that friendship. Angel's mocha skin meant she stuck out like a sore thumb amidst the pale, ivory skinned girls that worked there, and although her Japanese was as fluent as any native's, she still felt a certain sense of exclusion and hence was grateful for Sakiko's company.

The influx of important visitors and the amount of international attention the hotel was getting had made the atmosphere very tense indeed. Everyone was rushing around, absorbed in the exponentially increasing amount of work. As they walked to the hotel lobby, Sakiko began chattering excitedly about the famous guests.

"Oh my god, Angel! Look who just got out of that limo!" She squealed pointing towards the door.

Angel turned her gaze towards where she was pointing to see a tall man walking along, surrounded by women on both sides. Having no interest in celebrity gossip, she wasn't sure who they were but she got the general gist that he was very important and surrounded by quite famous models.

"He's been living in the penthouse suite for quite some time now." Sakiko murmured, while scanning the crowd for another glimpse of the "King", as the maids in the hotel referred to him.

"What?!" Angel's eyes narrowed in surprise, "That costs hundreds of thousands of dollars!" Whoever he was, he must certainly be very, very rich…

As he began heading her way, Angel started to back away to make way for the mob of people surrounding him. Suddenly, she was slammed into by a wave of women running towards her and was got pushed out of the crowd. In her surprise, she lost her balance and began to fall- only to be caught up by this man that everyone called the King. He gripped her tightly protecting her, briefly, from the mob of excited women.

"How dare you touch him?" The mob of women hissed at her.

"I-I'm really very sorry" Angel began apologetically, when the man cut her off abruptly.

"Get out of the way." He said coldly.

"What?" Angel asked, taken aback by his sudden change in demeanour. The man suddenly pulled away, leaving her to fall back onto the cold hard ground.

"Ouch." she grimaced a little from the slight ache. Anger bubbled up inside her. How dare he treat her like that? If he had any idea who she was, he'd have thought twice before disrespecting her in such a manner. Nevertheless, Angel quickly pushed aside her hubris and hurt. She had to keep a low profile if she wanted to convince her boss that she'd learnt her lesson, and decking a very important guest on a covert mission was, perhaps, not the best way to go about it.

Sakiko helped her up and immediately began to bombard her with questions.

"The King caught you in his arms! I'm so jealous! Did he smell good?" She exclaimed with an excited smile.

"I don't know… I don't really remember." She replied, surprised by the odd question. As she brushed herself off and smoothed out her clothes, she heard the clickety-clack of high heels on the marble floor behind her.

'Just what were you thinking, making a fool of yourself in front of an important guest like that?"

"Erika…" Angel groaned inwardly in displeasure. The bitchy girl was flanked, as usual, by her two sycophants Rina and Kana. All three ladies had worked there for longer than Angel and made sure that she knew who her superiors were. Angel admired her own self control at not having knocked the annoying girl out already. Although, her patience was wearing a little thin. She didn't know how long she'd be able to keep this up: this whole place was getting on her nerves.

"I'm sorry, it was an accident." Angel replied softly, trying- with some difficulty- to keep up her charade as the innocent, soft-spoken maid. It was by no means an easy feat: if she could have her own way, this bully would have been taken down a peg or two by this point.

"It was your fault for not paying attention to what was going on around you!" She screeched, all the while pointing a perfectly manicured nail in Angel's face. Boy, this girl was really asking for it. "You're in charge of the regular guests anyway," she spat. "You have no business even being around the VIPs. Try getting promoted to VIP maid like me and then we'll talk!"

Her two mindless followers repeated her words: "Then we'll talk."

"Y-Yes Erika…" Angel murmured, controlling her anger, though she couldn't hide the fire burning in her eyes.

Suddenly, Erika's face lit up brightly as an idea occurred to her. "Go to every floor and drop off all the special gift boxes for the guests staying for the spa package." She commanded snarkily.

"All of them, by myself?" Angel questioned, eyes narrowing in disbelief and anger.

"Yes. You got a problem with that?" Despite her bossy words, Erika's voice faltered slightly at the menacing look that was playing across the other girl's eyes. She looked almost... dangerous?

"...No" Angel replied after a slight hesitation. This girl may be a total bully, but she certainly wasn't worth risking her job over. Besides, she only had to tolerate Erika until the IVC (International VIP Convention) was over and then she'd be free!

As Angel headed towards the elevator, she paused when she spied a man and woman who stood arguing a few feet away. The woman stormed away, crying and obviously furious, while the man merely picked up the masquerade mask she'd discarded and brushed it off. He sighed

"Now I don't have a date." As he looked up, their eyes met and before Angel had a chance to move he swooped in and took her wrist.

"You just saw the whole thing didn't you?" He asked with a raised eyebrow, a sheepish smile playing across his lips.

Angel apologised, shifting uncomfortably at the awkward situation. As she moved to leave, he pulled her inside the elevator by the wrist he was still holding,

"Aww come on, don't run away. I'll explain everything when we get there."

"Umm…" Before she knows it the elevator doors slide shut leaving her stuck inside with this man, who by the way still has not let go of her hand.

"Whew, I'm lucky I found you. There's no way I could go to the party without a beautiful woman on my hand." Angel blushed, unused to compliments and still a little uncomfortable with the situation. Wait, he didn't mean the IVC, did he?

"Party? You're not talking about the IVC are you?" she asked curiously.

"Isn't it obvious: look at me." He said coolly. Angel studied the man in the flashy expensive suit. Handsome. Arrogant. Rich. Womanizer. Yep, this guy was a guest alright. Suddenly, remembering her station as a mere maid in the hotel, Angel realised how rude her unimpressed expression must appear to the lavish man. Besides, there were rules about the maids fraternising with important guest. This was a five star hotel after all and people in Japan were a lot more formal than in the West.

"I'm really sorry sir, but I work at this hotel, so I can't go to the party with you. And besides, what about that other woman?" Angel asked, desperately trying to avoid the situation.

She was supposed to be keeping a low profile and that couldn't happen if she turned up at a party she wasn't allowed to go to. And, god forbid, if anyone recognized her, her cover would be blown!

"What are you talking about? You're just my type. This is destiny!" He responded closing in on her, peering into her eyes.

"_Wow, this guy moves fast._" she thought, "_No wonder he got dumped so easily_."

It took all her self-control not to push him away- she couldn't afford to offend a guest after what had happened that morning. Erika was already on her tail. Thankfully, the elevator doors opened with a ding before she could snap at him and the man pulled her out into the glittering ballroom before she could utter a protest.

AN: Constructive reviews are much appreciated


	3. Chapter 3

A gorgeous chandelier hung from the tall ceiling of the ballroom. The whole room was an embodiment of luxury. It was tiled with expensive marble floors with tall mirrors surrounding the room with rich red walls showing in between. A great glass window took up most of the far-side wall and the entire room was packed with the rich and famous. An aura of decadence resonated from every fibre of the place.

Angels stood enraptured by the splendorous scene before her, until a soft voice brought her out of her reverie. She turned realising that the man who had brought her up here had disappeared. Instead she faced another, equally handsome man, with a soft face like that of an angel, framed befittingly with a halo of curly blond locks. He reminded her of a young cherub, as depicted in many pieces of art in Europe. Speaking of art, this was Ota Kisaki- the world famous artist and model. As she took him in with delight, for he was one of her favourites artists, she realised in dismay that he had asked her a question.

"Hey do you have any champagne?" He asked politely.

"Oh I-I'm sorry! I'll go get your champagne right away." Angel scanned the room desperately, looking for a bottle of champagne.

She was very confused- all she was supposed to do was put out gift boxes, how on earth did she end up here, amidst the gentry, serving champagne to Ota Kisaki of all people!

As the sight of any such bottles eluded her, Ota asked with a small chuckle, "Are you sure you work here? You're looking all around like Alice when she stumbled upon the Mad Hatter's Party."

"Excuse me?" Angel asked in slight disbelief.

The western comparison sounded rather peculiar in Japanese and it was a rather strange way of describing her confusion. Almost as if it was a strange code only he understood. "_Huh_," she thought, "_Must be an artist thing_."

"Never mind," Ota said "Hey, I see some champagne on that table there. Hope you get back home safely. Alice." He disappeared with a grin.

"_Okay then.._." Angel thought, shaking her head at the strange turn of events. As she turned around to get back to her work, she found her path blocked by a short stocky man with a lecherous grin on his face. He grabbed her hand and grinned sleazily at her.

"Mmm, I love girls like you," he murmured, as she leaned away from his rancid breath. "You wanna come with me to give me some special room service? I'll make sure to tip you well for the extra work."

Angel regarded him in disgust as she stated coldly, but politely, "I'm sorry sir, but we don't offer that kind of service here." She yanked her hand back from his clammy, sweaty grip, only to find him slipping his hand around her waist.

She was seriously beginning to consider breaking his nose, regardless of the consequences, when a voice came from behind her.

"This party suddenly got really trashy."

Angel whirled around to see the man from earlier- the "King"- standing there, glaring at the sleazy man.

"You again," he stated coldly, "You're in my way move."

The sleazebag all but grovels in front of him. "I-I'm sorry Mr Ichinomiya sir, pardon me."

"_Wait, what? Ichinomiya- as in owner of the Ichinomiya Group who own the hotel and runs the black market?_" Angel wanted to slap herself, how could she have been so stupid. She should have read the brief more carefully- this man must be Eisuke Ichinomiya. But, she didn't expect him to be so young…

As Eisuke pushed past her she automatically stepped back to make way for the intimidating figure, but her mind was running fast as she considered how to penetrate the organization and extract info on the illegal auctions. As he disappeared into the crowd she began to follow him, hoping to find out more about this powerful figure and his illicit deeds.


	4. Chapter 4

As Angel made after Eisuke, she saw him leave alone through a door in the back of the room. She followed him silently, weaving her way through the thick crowd. A long, deserted hallway stretched out behind the door which he had disappeared into. Angel paused for a second, unsure of which of the many rooms that lined the hall, he had disappeared into. The door of the farthest room was slightly ajar and she made her way closer, listening keenly to the faint voices floating out of the room. She peered inside and to her astonishment saw many briefcases filled with guns and rifles.

"_Is that a Ruger MK series .22lr pistol in that suitcase,"_ she wondered longingly, "_I've always wanted one of those!"_

Even more bags, filled with money, lay around the room. "Finally some action!" She thought, excited by the prospect of an incredibly valuable arms deal that she would soon be able to bust. She strained to listen to what the men were saying. They were speaking mandarin but that was no problem for Angel, who was fluent in over 10 languages including Japanese, Mandarin, Russian and Spanish, to name but a few.

"Today, I think there are enough prospective buyers to get a good value for the goods" Came a deep voice.

"_Of course, today must also be the start of the auctions_." She thought. There had to be at least $3.4 million worth of weapons in there- and that was just based on a mere cursory glance. However, before she could hear anything useful, like where or when the auctions would be held, she was roughly yanked back and forced against the wall.

Fear spiked through Angel. What could she do- fight? Even if she could overpower the heavily muscled man pinning her against the wall, it would almost immediately attract the attention of the others. Not to mention, she was completely unarmed. How could she be so stupid?

"What are you doing here?" The man asked angrily.

Dumbfounded by fear, Angel looked back into the man's cool, grey eyes. Despite the anger and coldness in them, Angel was surprised to see a certain warmth, hidden underneath, which she hadn't expected. Angel prided herself in being an excellent judge of character- that's what had made her one of the best- and she quickly decided to use that kindness she discerned to her advantage. After all, he had no idea who she was: to him she'd appear to be a mere hotel maid that had stumbled into the wrong place at the wrong time.

"I-I…"

"You have 5 seconds to disappear and forget everything you just saw." He commands threateningly "Otherwise, you will be wiped off the face of this earth."

Angel managed to nod and he relinquished his tight grip on her. He threw her a cold glare and she began to run, wanting to get the hell out of there before the others came to investigate and decided to be less kind.

By the time Angel had reached the storage room in the basement downstairs, her heart had stopped racing but the same could not be said for her mind. Should she tell her boss about the arms dealing she'd seen going on? But she didn't have any substantial information on who the sellers or bidders were, or where and when the auction would be held. Moreover, if that man recognized her snooping around he wouldn't be so forgiving a second time. She'd have to be much more careful now. Preoccupied by her thoughts, Angel absently grabbed the giftboxes for the guests and backed out of the tiny storage room. However, she hadn't noticed that she wasn't alone and accidentally bumped into two men carrying a box with something heavy in it. They dropped the box and cried out as they realised the contents within were damaged.

"AAAAHHH!" cried the bulkier of the two men, turning red with rage. "The statue of Venus is broken."

The name registered in Angel's mind, as she recalled that a few days ago a very valuable statue of Venus (it had been a gift to Japan from the President of France) had been stolen from a museum.

"This was a very important piece that was going to be auctioned off!" One of them cried out angrily.

"How are you going to pay for it?" The other growled.

The two men approached her menacingly and Angel realised that she had nowhere to go. Trapped in the closet of a room, there wasn't much space to fight or run. Nevertheless, she'd go do down swinging. As the bigger man reached out for her, she brought up her leg, landing a hard kick on his abdomen. He staggered back, shocked by the strength and audacity of this young, light-looking woman. Angel lunged out, decking the second man in an attempt to push past him but the bigger goon grabbed her leg, knocking her off the floor. The two men seized her and pulled her up, while Angel still struggled violently in their arms. Enraged by the few punches and kicks she had managed to land, the goons decided to make things easier for themselves:

"Knock the bitch out; if she won't come quietly then we'll take her forcibly."

Before she could react, Angel felt a hard blow of something that felt suspiciously like the butt of a gun, and she was knocked out cold.


	5. Chapter 5

"And now, for the last item up for bid: our grand finale. A healthy, young Indian woman!"

As Angel slowly began to regain consciousness, she became aware of a painfully bright spotlight shining down on her and realised that she was on a stage. Handcuffed and on a stage. In a giant bird cage.

_"__What the fuck?"_

Disbelief turned into panic as Angel slowly realised that she had been put up for auction in the place of the statue! As the bids began, her panic and fear took the form of an immense, uncontrollable anger. How dare they try and sell her like she was an object rather than a human being with full rights?

"Keep her as your slave, keep her as your toy…" the auctioneer continued "Do whatever you please with her… It's totally up to you!"

"_Actually, it's not_." Thought Angel as liquid rage began to course through her veins. "_I will kill anyone that tries to lay a finger on me"_ she promised herself silently.

Despite the profanities running through her mind and the voice inside her mind screaming with fear and anger, she kept quiet. "_If they buy me at least I'll have a chance to escape,_" she rationalised with herself "_I have no hope if they just shoot me through the bars of the cage…_"

She glanced around taking in the scene before her eyes. She was in a huge metal cage that had a padlock on the door.

"_As if I were an animal_" she thought, repulsed. All the exits were blocked by heavy set guards in black clothing, all armed with large rifle guns. Despite her situation, Angel couldn't help admiring the weapons they held- maybe she could nick one before she escaped.

"Number 5 for $2 million!" The auctioneer's voice drew her attention back to the crowd of bidders in the centre of the room. They sat, masked, in a circular arena, holding up cards for their bids. Number five was right in front of Angel, and even with his mask on she could recognize him as the sleazebag from the party before. Just the thought of this man touching her body made Angel shiver in disgust, however, he shouldn't be difficult to overpower- although, that would mean a serious backfiring of her reconnaissance mission.

"_Ohhh_," she groaned inwardly, "I_'m definitely going to lose my job now…"_

However, before the auctioneer closed the bid a man's voice called out from the back "$20 million"

"Are there any more bids?" the auctioneer called out, though judging by the awed exclamations in the room, it was unlikely anyone else would bid. "Sold to seat number 100 with a bid of $20 million!"

Angel stared dumbfounded as the screen flashed the bid price above their heads. Who would want to pay that much money for _her_. And what were they expecting back from her?

Angel watched everything intently- her eyes wild with fear. What was going to happen to her now?

Two men came up to the stage and led her out of the cage- still handcuffed. Angel looked in vain for an escape route, but resigned herself to the men when she couldn't see one. No point making a break for it, she'd be shot or caught before she even got a few feet away. The men led her into the elevator and her curiosity was piqued as they passed even the VIP guest rooms. Whoever bought her must be exceedingly rich and important.

"_Not to mention, downright cruel_." She thought with irritation. The elevator door pinged open and as she stepped into the luxurious penthouse, she was dumbstruck by the sight that awaited her…


	6. Chapter 6

Angel stepped out into the luxurious penthouse, her sharp mind quickly taking in all the details. Inside the huge room was a beautiful, sweeping staircase with gold railings and red carpet. Halfway up the stairs stood a man, quietly smoking a cigarette and watching the scene with detached interest. The wall at the far end of the room was a huge windowing, opening out to a stunning view of Japan, with a river flowing next to the brightly lit city. In the middle of the room was a red couch where a man-Eisuke -lounged, watching her with a cold, condescending but amused smile. Behind him, stood a familiar figure.

"_Is that…no… it can't be._" Angel watched in shock, as the man who had pinned her up outside the room with the weapons, stood, arms folded, watching her with an uninterested expression.

Angel couldn't help but admit, briefly, that he was incredibly handsome and there was, inevitably, a sexy quality about his dark, enigmatic personality. She quickly dispelled the ridiculous thoughts, her anger rising as she remembered her situation. The two masked men that led her up here, removed their masks revealing very familiar faces.

"Ota Kisaki," Angel asked in disbelief, astounded by the fact that such an angelic looking man could have anything to do with such illicit operations, "And you- you're the man that brought me to the IVC!"

"Hah, she doesn't even know your name, Baba!" Ota laughed, as he patted him good naturedly on the back.

"Didn't have time to tell her." Baba retorted, trying to elude Ota's teasing.

Angel wouldn't stand for it.

"You bought me in an auction." She stated coldly "How dare you? I'm a human being, you had no right- _I shouldn't have even been up for auction_!" She raged, her voice rising from it's quiet pitch to a crescendo. The men, nevertheless seemed unfazed.

"Anything and everything's up for sale in that auction" Baba said, casually, a cocky smirk playing across his face, which Angel was itching to slap off his face. If only she weren't still handcuffed… "If there's someone out to sell it, you can buy it. There are no rules." He continued, apparently oblivious to the look of rage seething across her face.

"Who the hell allowed you to _buy _me-?"

"I did." Eisuke cut in.

Of course, despite their involvement in the sales, as owner of the hotel Eisuke Ichinomiya was the only one that had the power to authorise what could and could not be sold. Well, evidently there was nothing that could not be sold here.

"If it's worth anything, it's here." He said with a jeering smirk.

Before Angel had a chance to say a word, the man behind Eisuke speaks up,

"You're reckless as always. This woman isn't worth anything." At first, the words sting, but Angel wondered if this was his own subtle way of showing his disapproval of their actions?

"But won't it be fun thinking up ways to use her, Soryu?" Eisuke chuckled, looking at her deviously as Soryu rolled his eyes. Angel was about ready to let loose a string of expletives. Every bad word in the dictionary was running through her mind. How dare they play with her like this? But she had to be careful as one wrong move and it was game over for her.

Despite her control, she was unable to hold back and blurted out angrily "What gave you the right to do that?"

Realizing her mistake, for she was supposed to be playing the helpless, humble maid, she pretended to cower at the glare Eisuke shot her.

"Who gave you permission to speak? Don't open your mouth unless I say so." He commanded angrily.

Angel hung her head to hide her anger, biting back a sneering retort. She balled her hands up into fists in her handcuffs, fortunately unnoticed by the men. Meanwhile, she could hear Ota and Baba whispering.

Ota's remark, "You have a dirty mind Baba!" scorched her as she realised the possibilities a vulnerable, attractive young girl presented to them.

As her humiliation flushed her cheeks, she considered again possible escape routes. She had the element of surprise on her hand- they wouldn't suspect that such an innocent, lithe young girl would be capable of the things she was. On the other hand, Angel was painfully aware that Ichinomiya's penthouse was one of the most secure places in the city and getting out of there, though not impossible, would certainly be difficult. Moreover, the threat of losing her job if she didn't successfully recon the auction, hung ominously over her head.

"Jesus Christ, what a mess I've made of things…" she thought silently to herself.

Suddenly, Soryu intervened.

"If you've got a problem with it, would you rather go back to number 5?" He asked coldly.

His cruelty bit Angel like a whip. Maybe she had been wrong about him. Clearly, the man was involved with the mafia and a very powerful, high ranking member of his organization too, judging from the authority and respect he commanded from others. Suddenly, an idea sparked in Angel's mind, brightening her up considerably. What on earth had she been upset about? This whole thing was a god-given blessing. I mean, what better way is there to secure information about the auction than living with the men who run it?

"_Yes!_' Angel thought inwardly, "_Sometimes I really can be quite brilliant."_

"C'mon Boss… Soryu… you should be nice to girls…" Baba argued with a gentle, amused smile. "Plus we need to figure out who keeps her." Angel's head shot up at this, as she quickly began to consider all the possible scenarios, and how to best use them to her advantage in order to extract as much information as possible.

"Yeah, I'm pretty fond of her already…" Ota agreed, looking into her eyes with longing. Angel sadly shook her head and looked away. Of all the men, Ota seemed the kindest and she'd have been thrilled to spend time with her favourite artist. However, he'd be of very little use to her in her investigation.

"What do you mean who gets me?" Angel asked quietly, faking timidity but unable to hold back her curiosity. "Is one of you going to buy me?"

"That's right, but there's nothing to worry about. If I buy you, that is. I'm the only good guy here." Baba said with a mischievous smile.

Angel stared at him. From what she'd seen of him so far he was arrogant, cocky and a real womanizer- she hadn't forgotten his earlier dirty remark.

"Says the world famous thief. But you would say that, wouldn't you." Eisuke chuckled.

"_Of course!"_ Angels eyes widened as realisation dawned on her. This was the notorious heist-master Mitsunari Baba! She was familiar with his antics, though she'd never seen him before.

"You're just trying to lower Baba's stock. Eisuke, you've got tons of groupies. Just play with one of them." Ota chuckled.

Angel looked on with disgust at their casual conversation- how could they treat women so dispensably? Still, she held her tongue.

"Soryu's the one that could have his pick." Eisuke laughed along with Ota. "I'm sure lots of women would do anything to be the lover of a Hong Kong mobster."

Angel stiffened at that remark. Mobster, then, not mafia. If he chose her, then the information she'd gain would be invaluable. She stood still praying that he'd be the one. Eisuke turned to her and spoke, in a tone she found most despicable.

"And if you even think about running to the police, that cop over there will ensure that you're the only one that gets blamed." He said menacingly, pointing to the man on the stairway, puffing on his cigarette.

"Dammit, don't just blow my cover like that!" He exclaimed, looking annoyed.

The scruffy-looking man put out his cigarette and casually tossed it in the trash, before languidly making his way over to the rest of the group. As the others teased him, Angel wondered with revulsion how corrupt the system must be if even the police were in on it. "_Proof_," she observed detachedly, _"that money will allow a man to resort to any measure."_

"Doesn't look like we're going to reach a decision any time soon," Ota spoke, drawing their attention back to the previous topic of converse.

"Right. Well I don't want to waste any more time on this." Eisuke stood up, and said coolly "Make a decision. I'll let you decide who buys you."

Angel's heart leapt. Could this be? Looks like the heavens were really pouring their blessings on her today. She quickly sent out a silent prayer of thanks to anyone who might be listening, and after feigning a moment of hesitation to decide, she announced:

"I-I think I'll go with Soryu."


	7. Chapter 7

A barely perceptible look of shock flashed across Soryu's eyes, briefly before it was replaced with that emotionless cold again. He couldn't believe it, of all the people, why on earth would she choose him? Usually, people went out of their way to avoid him- they perceived him as terrifying and dangerous. Soryu was used to people judging him before they even got to know him, so the blind trust this girl was placing in him surprised him.

"_Does she really believe I won't hurt her?_" he wondered to himself.

"Are you serious?" asked Ota, voicing Soryu's own question.

"Soryu's a mobster. Are you sure?" Baba put in.

Everyone was shocked by Angel's decision.

"Y-Yes…" she said timidly.

"That's what she says, Soryu." Said Eisuke. "Well?" he questioned looking over to his best friend.

Soryu replied with a glare, ignoring everyone.

"Do whatever you want. Who knows what'll happen to you." He says, a threat underlying his casual words.

Although the girl seemed to be terrified, with her head hung humbly, refusing to meet his eyes, Soryu somehow doubted if she was as innocent as she looked. He sensed a fire lurking beneath that shy demeanour. Why did he feel as though this was just the calm before the storm?...

Soryu turned on his heel and walked away, Angel stood still unsure of what to do next. Did he just reject her, or is she supposed to follow him?

"That means it's okay with him." Baba explained, as though reading her mind. "Sor's kind of shy".

Angel suppressed a smile at the idea that such a fierce, defiant mobster could be described as "shy". She quickly followed him, chasing behind with her heels clacking rapidly on the marble floor. Soryu winced in annoyance as he heard her behind him.

"_Is she going to be this noisy all the time?_" he wondered as he let himself into his room without glancing back at the slave he'd just bought.

Angel followed Soryu into the room, only to find that he was on the phone.

"…Take care of it." Soryu ended.

Take care of it? What was he talking about? Angel cursed herself for being so slow. She couldn't afford to miss any details considering what was at stake. She crept forward, trying to be inconspicuous but Soryu glanced at her and quickly hung up. Dammit, she'd have to be more careful next time. She looked down at the floor, pretending as though she had no interest in his conversation when suddenly, he took off his shirt and approached her. Angel's eyes widened in surprise- she hadn't really pinned him as that sort of a man. As he got closer, the lean muscles on his torso bulging prominently, her heart began to beat faster. Her head went blurry and her entire body tensed up. What the hell was wrong with her? It wasn't as though she'd never seen a fit guy before. What was it about this man, that provoked such a reaction in her? However, Soryu walked straight past tossing the words "Don't get any weird ideas." Over his shoulder as he went. Angel blushed profusely, feeling like an idiot.

"_Of course he isn't interested in me,_" she thought, self- deprecatingly "_I mean, look at me, there isn't anything remotely attractive about me. I've got a job to do and I can't afford any sort of distraction."_

Shaking her head to clear the absurd thoughts, she waited until the Soryu had disappeared into the bathroom and she could hear the shower before she headed towards the door to explore her surroundings. She knew well enough how volatile missions like this could be and if something went wrong she needed to know her way out of any situation. As she turned the door knob, droplets of water fell on her cheeks startling her. She turned around to see Soryu, hair dripping wet and with nothing but a towel around his waist. Her breath caught as she drank in the gorgeous sight. He was uncomfortably close and her heart was beating so fast she was sure he could hear it.

"You wanna be erased?" he asked quietly, but the menace that laced his voice was as sharp as a knife. His Japanese had a slight British accent, much like her own and she wondered if he'd lived in England before.

"N-n-no…" she stuttered, still struggling to concentrate with his body so close.

"Then be good. If you're good, then I won't do anything bad to you." He said, his voice softening. Angel blinked at the sudden change of tone. Was he really so benevolent?

"…Okay…" she replied adding fear in her voice.

Inside, however, she was laughing. Do anything bad to her? He could try…

In an inspired moment, she pretended to feel faint, collapsing by his feet. She was enjoying this far too much- she'd always wanted to fake a swoon! There was no better way to convince him that she was a helpless maid than collapsing dramatically. Well, maybe it was a bit over the top…

"W-What's going to happen to me?" She asked, a tremor in her voice.

"Who knows?" Soryu said, completely unaffected by her state.

"_Boy, is this man cold._" She thought to herself.

"Are you going to keep me here?" She asked. It would really help her cause if she could stay as close to him and Eisuke as possible, after all they seemed to be heading up this organization.

"I don't have to take care of you. You're going to have to earn that $20 million I paid for you."

"What do you want me to do…?" she asked hesitantly, wondering what she had set herself up for.

To her surprise he walked towards her, and she lifted her head to meet his gaze and jerked back as he tightly grasped her chin, bringing his face very close. Too close.

Instinctively, her eyes hardened subtly but it did not escape Soryu's perceptive scrutiny. There was that fire again. As much as she may try to play the vulnerable victim- and she was doing a good job at that- the defiance in her eyes betrayed her. He was very good at reading characters and he was sure that there was more to this girl than met the eye. Meeting her unflinching gaze, he warned her:

"Don't you dare tell anyone what you saw today. Telling anyone else is the same as signing your own death warrant. Yours, your friends' and your family's."

Angel remained silent, unamused by his threat. He could have gotten away with threatening her, but anyone who threatened the people she loved would be sorry.

"Got it?" He asked roughly, tightening his grip painfully on her chin.

"P-please don't drag everyone else into this. It's my problem." She said, pretending to be afraid, to hide the rage that was seething inside her.

"If you want to protect them, you'll keep your mouth shut."

Angel nodded, not trusting herself to speak.

Suddenly, the door burst open without warning and Ota came in.

"Hey Soryu! You already seducing her?" he asked teasingly. Disgusted Angel moved back and as she made to get up, bumped into Eisuke.

"You're in the way. Move." Eisuke demanded rudely. Oh how she wanted to teach this insolent man a lesson. However, all she said was,

"Sorry… excuse me."

The door opened again and the rest of the group came in, much to Soryu's displeasure.

"Need something?" He asked shortly.

"We were just wondering what you two were doing in here." Ota said.

"Wow, I've never seen you hit on a girl like this, Sor." Baba said in awe.

Angel scoffed inwardly. Hit on a girl? This guy didn't know the first thing about how to treat a lady.

"…As if I'd waste my time on this woman." Angel's eyes narrowed at that and she bit back a scornful retort.

"Uh-huh. Then where are your clothes?" Baba asked, with a smug smile.

"She tried to run away while I pretended to take a shower, so I caught her." Soryu said as he sat down on an armchair next to the window, glaring at her.

As the boys continued to tease him, Angel cut in,

"I wasn't trying to run away. I just wanted to have a look around." She piped up hesitantly. "I've never seen anything so extravagant before." She lied blatantly, feeling a little homesick for her own luxurious mansion in the English countryside.

"Looks like Soryu likes the innocent little girls." Teased Ota.

"What-"

"Yeah I've always known you were a closeted Perv." Grinned Baba.

Suddenly Soryu pulled something out from behind the chair and pointed it at the man in front of him.

"Will you stop pointing your gun at me- that's against the rules!" Exclaimed Baba, slightly shocked.

Angel was instantly more alert; though the sarcastic side of her couldn't help wondering "_These people have rules now?"_.

The others looked slightly nervous and expressed their displeasure, though Soryu didn't care at all.

"You're too loud and this was the quickest way to shut you up." He said casually, but he laid his gun down on the table anyway as the men shut up.

"_So he has guns hidden around here._" Noted the ever observant Angel. Maybe she could appropriate one of them as her own…

Turning back to her, Baba asked:

"You said you wanted to have a look around. Let me take you pretty lady. I'll give you the full tour." He gave her a flirty wink and Angel refrained from rolling her eyes.

She reluctantly went with him- regardless of whether or not she could tolerate his constant innuendoes and flirting, she knew she had to be familiar with the security and layout of the penthouse. Wordlessly, she followed Baba as he walked out, chattering excitedly.

AN: constructive reviews are greatly appreciated. Hugs and kisses from your favourite bidder to all those who review/ favourite/ follow! ;)


	8. Chapter 8

As Baba explained about the hotel, Angel listened, keenly drinking in all the details. All of them lived in the penthouse on the 51st floor, except Eisuke who lived upstairs, at the top of the beautiful staircase she'd noticed when she first arrived. Well, at this height jumping out of the window was out of the question. Maybe if she could secure a rappel as a back up. Oh if only she could get back to the small apartment she'd been renting. She'd stored all her equipment and important information there, as she couldn't keep it in the hotel dorms. Angel was surprised at their gentleness as they all showed her around the penthouse. Buying her really was just a source of amusement- like she was a toy and they were children. Her impression of them being childish boys was just growing more and more.

"You're wearing a uniform. You work at the hotel as a maid right?" Baba asked, interrupting her train of thought.

"Huh? Oh, yeah." Angel said, recalling her cover story. "I haven't been up here before, I'm not allowed. And I'm not really allowed to talk to the guests either…"

"What's your name?" Ota asked. Angel remembered that no-one even knew her name yet- so much had happened it didn't even seem significant.

"Angel…"

"What a beautiful name. It suits you pretty lady. I'm Mitsunari Baba. I'm a thief." He said flashing her a cocky smile. "I'm 35, single and ready to mingle."

Angel smiled, and politely said,

"Well I've recently turned 26." Hoping he'd get the hint that he was far too old for her. However, he seemed unfazed.

"I'm Ota Kisaki, but you already knew that didn't you? Someone else's turn!"

He turned to the other two, but Angel was met with stony silences from both Mamoru and Eisuke.

Reluctantly the detective introduced himself as "Mamoru Kishi", and Angel turned to the last member, sitting on the couch legs crossed.

"You know who that is right? That's Eisuke Ichinomiya, CEO of the Ichinomiya Group and owner of this hotel. He runs the auctions." Angel felt triumphant- she knew he was the one behind this. Now to get enough evidence…

Realising she'd need to go home to get some equipment, and perhaps arm herself- even she wouldn't stand a chance against all the armed security roaming around the place- Angel considered what to do.

"You look like you've got something to say." Eisuke had been watching her intently.

"I-I was just wondering if I'd be able to go home. I have work tomorrow so…" she broke off as Eisuke laughed derisively.

"You're worried about your job at a time like this?"

_"__Oh, if only he knew what my job was_." Angel thought silently. "You belong to Soryu now so you need to ask him that." Ignoring his laughter, Angel headed back to Soryu's suite.

_A little while later._

"So? May I go back to work?" Angel asked awkwardly. Soryu studied her intently.

"Do you understand what I told you before?" He asked.

"I won't tell a soul." Angel vowed. _"My boss doesn't have a soul…"_ she thought gleefully to herself.

"…Fine then. As long as you understand that." Seizing the opportunity, Angel turned and hastily headed towards the door, before he changed his mind.

"Wait. Where are you going?" Soryu asked, after a brief moment where he'd been mesmerized by her swaying behind as she hurried towards the door. Even the unflattering uniform couldn't hide her unbelievably fit figure.

"_How does she keep herself so toned?"_ Soryu wondered.

"Um… you said I could go home. Right?" Angel asked falteringly, noticing the frown on his face. He couldn't keep thinking about this girl- he had more important things to do…

"I said you could go back to work, not home. Otherwise I can't keep an eye on you." Soryu said, turning away to dial up the hotel manager.

"_Dammit, I was so close…_" thought Angel silently, furious with herself. Had he begun suspecting her? She'd have to tread very carefully from here on out.

Minutes later, as Angel stood broodingly in the corner while Soryu continued about his business, completely ignoring her, the hotel manager Mr Kenzaki walked in.

"You called, Mr Oh?" He had a smile on his face, despite the fact that you could almost taste the tension in the air.

"I've given this woman permission to enter the penthouse." Soryu said, waving dismissively at her "Give her the pager and the elevator key.

Kenzaki silently took an elevator key out his pocket and handed it to her.

"I'll give you the pager later." He said.

Angel took it with a curt nod, her dismay too great to bother forming a reply. He left with a bow.

"_The man didn't even ask any questions._" Noticed Angel "_He must know about the auctions running here."_

"Come straight here whenever I page you." Commanded Soryu.

Angel stiffened slightly at the idea of having to answer to his every beck and call like a common slave, but thankfully he didn't notice.

"Um…" Angel said, piping up as she realised Soryu was about to leave. "Where am I to sleep?"

"Here, of course." He stated matter-of-factly.

Angel's eyes narrowed. Was he trying to make a move on her? There was no way she was sleeping with him. Thankfully he continued

"You can take this bed and bathroom. Don't come anywhere near mine, though." He ordered, before disappearing into a small bedroom in the back of the suite, which she hadn't noticed before.

_"__Don't worry, I have no intention of it._" She thought scornfully to herself, as she prepared herself for bed.

It had been a roller coaster of a day and her nerves were strung so tight she felt like she'd snap if she didn't get to bed.

"_I'll work out what to do depending on how things play out tomorrow._" She decided with a yawn, falling asleep as soon as her head hit the plush pillow.


	9. Chapter 9

Angel spent the next morning fending off questions from her co-workers about where she'd been the previous night. That morning had been a particularly difficult one as Erika went out of her way to make her life as miserable as possible. Fortunately, before her taunts made Angel do something she'd regret, her pager went off informing her she was wanted upstairs.

'No cell phones during wor-' Erika began to screech and broke off as she realised what Angel was holding. 'Where did you get that? Only staff in charge of the VIPs are allowed to have a pager.'

As Erika advanced on her looking more hag-like than ever, Angel quickly escaped, ducking out the door and almost toppling a startled Chisato in her haste to get away from her boss.

'I can't wait until this mission is over.' Angel muttered to herself as she hurried to the elevator. 'Dear god, I swear I'll live up to my name and be a total Angel, if I never have to meet that woman again, after this is over.' She vowed.

Angel stepped silently into the penthouse, watching the scene before her with irritation. The boys had set up a card game and the place was littered with booze, cigarettes and women fawning over them as they placed their stakes. Angel stood in the shadows, watching the scene with slight disgust as a woman sidled up to Soryu and took a sip of his drink, looking up at him intimately as she ran her tongue around the rim of the glass. Angel's stomach clenched, although she had no idea why. How does it matter to her what kind of women he spent his time or energy with. After all, a Hong Kong mobster was bound to have countless women under him- in more ways than one. But, much to her surprise, Soryu shook her off and shifted away from her clawing hands.

'Oh, you're no fun at all, Soryu.' She says with a pout.

'Sorry, but Soryu just got a new toy, so he's a little obsessed with that lately.' Baba explains teasingly.

'And he's just about to play with that toy too.' Ota adds playfully. A frown crossed Angel's face as it dawned on her that they meant her. Taking a deep breath, she composed herself before stepping out of the shadows, towards Soryu.

'What took you so long?' Soryu demanded, catching sight of her. Angel resisted the temptation to scowl at his tone and merely mumbled

'I'm sorry, I was working.'

Throwing his cards down, Soryu declared 'I'm out', and ignoring the teasing of the other men, led Angel out.

'Where are we going?' Angel asks.

'My room.' A dark thought briefly crossed Angel's mind- what if he tried to make a move on her? But she dispelled it quickly. From what she'd seen of him so far, he didn't seem to like women very much. Soryu impatiently gestured for her to follow him and she hurried to catch up with his long strides.

As she entered the room she saw Soryu turning around with some sort of material in his hand. A dress, and a mask.

'You're going to wear this tonight.' He ordered.

'Why…?' Angel asked curiously.

'You're helping out with the auction tonight.'

'Auction…like the one yesterday?' Angel asked carefully. 'There's going to be another one today?'

'There's one every day during the IVC?'

Everyday? This was a much larger racket than Interpol had originally assumed- the illegal revenue they must rake in would be well into the millions- probably even billions. This was a fantastic opportunity to find out the exact goods- and even the buyers and sellers- in the auction. Angel began mentally calculating how the evening might pan out and her heart beat faster with excited anticipation.

'Since the IVC's actually a front to cover up the illegal auctions of course.' Soryu continued, oblivious to the inner workings running in her mind.

'A-a front?' Angel said, eyes widening in faked surprise. Of course she knew that all along but she had to play the part.

'I'll explain later. For now I need you to memorise this.' He said handing her a list.

'Are these the things that are going to be sold at the auction tonight?' Angel asked, quickly scanning the list.

This was just too good! Soryu himself had handed her a full list of the goods being sold and from whom they had come. Already she could see a few valuable artefacts and paintings that had been reported stolen over the past year, as well as other contraband items including weapons, bombs and drugs. Even national secrets were being sold. If she stopped it, she may be preventing a small-scale war. It was like Christmas had come early!

As Angel sat silently pretending to memorise the list- for her mind had been trained to be so sharp that a single glance was all she needed to memorise it- Soryu sat next to her reading a book. Angel frowned to herself

'_Ahhh why won't he leave?_'

She needed to get the list to her team somehow. The information was next to useless if no one but her knew about it. Why wasn't he going back to the others?

Soryu was watching her very carefully. Although at first he was guarding her to make sure she didn't try anything funny, after a little while he became enchanted by a tendril of ebony hair that had come loose from her ponytail and hung next to her face, softly caressing her cheek as she studied the list intently. He caught himself and returned to his book, berating himself silently for becoming so distracted by something as insignificant as hair! What was it about this woman that made such a lack-wit of him? He was furious at the feelings she stirred up inside him: completely new emotions that he had never experienced before.

Angel decided to speak up as Soryu showed no signs of moving from his spot.

'Um… I'm not going to run away, ok?'

'Of course you won't.' Soryu replied smoothly, not looking up from him

'So… you can leave me alone. Weren't you in the middle of a card game?'

'I'm not going back in there.'

'What?' Angel's heart sank.

How was she supposed to get a message back to headquarters if he was going to be watching her like a hawk all the time?

'It smells too much like perfume and it makes me nauseous. Baba's always bringing strange women up in here…' He admitted, rubbing the back of his neck, his gaze cast down onto the floor.

The gesture made him look strangely young and childlike, and Angel felt pity surge up in her heart. He didn't like women…

'Oh of course,' she said softly in realisation 'It must be difficult for you. After all, Japan's much more conservative than other places. The others don't know do they…' Angel trailed off at the bewildered look he was giving her.

'What are you going on about?' He demanded crossly.

'Oh you know… the fact that… well…that you're…gay?' Angel faltered, as Soryu turned crimson..

'W-What… I-I am most definitely. NOT. GAY.' He spluttered, incredulous of the conclusion she had reached.

Angel tugged on a tendril of her hair in embarrassment, biting her lip at the awkward tension between them.

'Oh.' She said, trying to diffuse the embarrassing situation 'I'm sorry… You seemed uncomfortable around women and I just assumed… never mind.'

'I like women. I just haven't found the right one yet.' Soryu tried to explain.

'Oh, yes. Of course.' Angel nodded trying to end the awkward conversation.

They both turned back to their documents and studied them intently both of their cheeks burning with embarrassment.


	10. Chapter 10

Angel had memorised the entire list of items being auctioned off that night and was just waiting for an opportunity to do something useful with it. Realising Soryu wasn't going to leave, she decided to take matters into her own hands.

'Soryu, if I'm going to be staying here then I need to go home to get some things I need.' Angel said, rousing him from the book he was concentrating on.

'Humph… What sort of things?' He asked in mild annoyance.

'You know: clothes, make up, toiletries…other _lady things._' She said, emphasizing the last part hoping he'd take the hint.

Soryu suddenly looked quite flustered- she knew he would be. Some men just can't handle the idea of _lady things_. She giggled inwardly at his embarrassment.

'Very well then,' he said gruffly 'You may go home and get the things you require, but if you try to run away or do anything bad-'

'You'll kill me. Yeah, I got the idea. Don't worry, I'm not a total idiot.' She flashed him a brilliant smile, before jumping up and hurrying towards the door.

'Wait.' Soryu called. Angel had her back to him so he couldn't see the smile on her face turn into a terrifying scowl as she was deterred once again from her aim. 'First of all, watch your mouth. Don't talk back to me. Secondly, leave that list here. I don't want it getting into the wrong hands.'

Angel recomposed her face into a meek expression.

'Yes, sir. I'm sorry.' Leaving the list next to him, she turned to leave relaxing when she realised he'd already returned to the book.

'_It's already in the wrong hands.'_ she thought malevolently, '_You just don't know it yet…'_

Angel hurried into her apartment, drawing all the blinds down and locking the door behind her so she wouldn't get any surprise visitors. Quickly fishing around, she found a small cell and texted her new back up team in Japan.

_Black market auction going down in 3Spades basement. Code: Mad Hatters tea party. Have infiltrated auction sponsors- will b there 2night. Disguise urself as one of the guards. Uniform: all black, t-shirt and cargo army trousers. Knock them out and take their place. Entry through back; southwest- side door._

She sent them the list of items being sold that night, before deleting the texts and call log. There was no information or number left on the phone that would even suggest any ties with Interpol. She hurriedly packed a small suitcase with items she'd need, hiding a few weapons and gadgets in a concealed compartment in the bag. She tucked a small gun into a garter belt on her thigh, and tucked spare magazines on her other thigh. She then changed into the dress Soryu had given her and as she hurried to the mirror to fix her hair and make up, she stopped short in surprise.

The dress became her beautifully. It was a gorgeous deep red, shimmery evening gown that fell to her feet. Although it hugged her curves nicely, it was loose enough at the bottom that the concealed gun didn't bulge out. The neckline plunged, highlighting her clavicle, which stood out deliciously, and the corseted top was tight enough that her assets were quite prominent but not so much that it was provocative or cheap. The dark, devil red suited her mocha skin to perfection and her silky black hair tumbled down her bare shoulders finishing the elegant look.

'_I don't look half-bad._' she thought wryly, as she swept some of her hair into a half pony, pinning it behind with an ornate silver hair clip, studded with red stones, which were almost the same colour as the elegant dress.

'_Did Soryu pick this out?_' She wondered in surprise. '_Nah, probably had one of his lackeys to do it for him- this is far too beautiful for a man with such little knowledge of women to have picked out_.' She thought, dismissing the idea.

As she put the final touches of her make up on and gave herself one last self- appraising look, she felt a small sense of pride. So far the boys had only belittled and poked fun at her as a worthless, useless, plain looking maid. Finally, she felt she had a chance to perhaps rise in their eyes. Picking up her suitcase and the delicate, golden mask, she headed back to Tres Spades.

The auction was taking place in a huge room, with a stage up front and a huge electronic board hanging overhead. In the sides of the room were private boxes, from which some of the more prestigious auctioneers could watch the process. It was like a theatre. The entire room was bathed in a blue light, and the dim lighting, combined with the hum that resonated from the quiet chatter of the guests, created a surreal atmosphere. Angel felt as if she'd really fallen down a rabbit hole into a whole new world. As she stood by the edge of the stage, waiting as people began to filter in, she surveyed her surroundings: taking in the heavily armed guards at every exit. She surveyed them all intently until her keen eyesight caught one of them tugging discreetly at his ear. As she watched, his hand moved down to scratch his left wrist, which a blue watch adorned.

'_That's him_.' She thought recognizing her fellow agent, although it looked like her gaze had passed straight over him.

Even if anyone had been studying her every move they wouldn't have noticed anything amiss.

'_What was his name… Taylor?… Tyler_?' She wondered as she looked at the items being put up for bid.

In the periphery of her vision every detail of the whole scene was being registered. The agent was a heavyset, intimidating black male, muscles bulging out from underneath his clothes. He was the only mole she recognized (she hadn't had much time to get to know her colleagues before she came to the hotel) and though she knew others had infiltrated the security too, she wasn't sure who. It didn't matter; this operation was strictly surveillance. They'd be able to follow and apprehend far more criminals if they observed and dealt with them each discreetly, than bust one auction and lose the vital information and criminals they could catch if they monitored several auctions.

However, despite the tension that was knotting her stomach, Angel maintained a cool veneer. The only emotion she allowed to show was her fascination by the extraordinary scene before her. There were high profile people of all colours, nationalities and professions here. The masks, drinks and laughter made it seem like a sort of masquerade ball or opera theatre. The auctioneer was dressed as the Mad Hatter and he looked fantastic with the dramatic make up and costume: exactly how Angel had imagined the Mad Hatter when she'd read the book. As she stood near the door, she could hear familiar voices behind her.

'Where has that woman got to now? I'll kill her if she's late.' Came a grumpy voice.

'Calm down Soryu, I'm sure she'll be here.' Said a light voice, which she recognized as Ota's dulcet tones.

'I can't believe you let her go. I don't expect her to come back.' Came Mamoru's dry voice.

'No, she fears for hers and her family's lives too much to just disappear.' Someone said confidently.

'_Probably Eisuke_,' Angel thought dryly. '_He's the only one that could sound that arrogant.'_

'Hmm… somehow I don't think she's as pathetic as you think she is, Eisuke. I sense a fighter in her.' Soryu mused, lost in thought.

'OOOOH! Soryu's got a crush!' Squealed Ota in delight.

Angel could imagine the smouldering scowl Soryu must be sending him, behind her.

Finally she turned around to face them.

'You need not fear,' she said coolly 'I wasn't planning on running away. I couldn't _possibly_ leave when the company's this good.' Her voice was dripping with sarcasm but all she was met by were 5 stunned faces.

She couldn't help a small smile at their reactions. She'd never really been that bothered about her looks- she worked in a dirty and dangerous career so it was completely pointless. Regardless, it felt good to know that she was capable of making even these arrogant, womanizing boys speechless, even if momentarily.

'Cat got your tongue, boys?'

'B-but how?...' Ota trailed off, rendered speechless by the confident, radiant woman standing before him.

He couldn't believe this was the same tiny, meek and plain maid that they'd bought, trembling, from the auction the previous day.

'My God! Such a pretty lady. It's not fair you get to keep her all to yourself Soryu.' Baba said smoothly, recovering quickly back to his flirtatious old self. 'If you ever feel like Soryu isn't treating you right, you're more than welcome to come to my room. I'll show you how a gorgeous lady like you should be treated.' Baba said suggestively, flashing her a dazzling white smile.

'Riiight… I'll keep that in mind thanks.' She said awkwardly.

She turned to face Soryu, for some reason keen to know his reaction.

'_Why?_' She wondered to herself, stomach churning. '_Why do I care what he thinks of me? I don't care what any of these other criminals think so why do I find myself wanting his approval?_'

Soryu stood in a sort of stunned silence. The tiny, plain, helpless little girl he'd threatened earlier had been replaced by a gorgeous woman, who was unconsciously exuding the sort of confidence that came with knowing you looked good. And she did look good. He was painfully aware of her curvy, luscious figure and while he'd noticed that she was attractive before, he was absolutely enchanted now. Her dark skin stood out in their little group and he knew that he couldn't ignore her even if he wanted to.

'Oooh, looks like Soru's crush just turned into a full blown love affair.' Baba joked.

'You just can't take your eyes off her now can you Mr I-don't-like-women-'cos-their-stinky-and-awful!' Ota teased, hooting with laughter.

Angel blushed and looked steadfastly at the ground, suddenly fascinated by the swirls in the black marble. Soryu realised he'd been staring and forced himself to look away.

'What, I'm just surprised she managed to look somewhat decent. After the wreck she was yesterday, this is just an improvement. It would take a miracle to make _her_ look attractive.' He said sourly, rubbing his neck.

Angel's head snapped up at his scathing comment. His friends, used to his surly attitude, just continued to tease him, but Angel was unused to such coldness from strangers. She'd been perfectly polite to him the entire time and was surprised by his biting remark. Although her emotionless mask remained unaffected, as she regarded Soryu with her warm brown eyes, he could discern the hurt behind them and instantly regretted his thoughtless remark.

'Ladies and gentlemen, please take your seats. The Mad Hatter's party shall begin shortly.' The auctioneer announced and Angel turned wordlessly on her heel and ascended the steps to the stage, looking a vision in red.

'_Who was I kidding? Me and beautiful? The very idea is ridiculous_.' She thought self-deprecatingly. '_I know where my skills lie and I should stick to what I'm good at. I know nobody can beat me in espionage. What am I playing at, trying to be the glamorous lady all eyes are turned by? Whatever, it doesn't matter_.' Angel tried to dismiss the thoughts, but a nagging feeling still remained in the back of her mind.

She put on her mask to hide her glittering eyes as tears began to prick dangerously. Why was such an insignificant comment having such an effect on her self-esteem? Had it been anyone else she'd have told them where to get off and not thought about it anymore, but for some reason she couldn't let go of this. Why was she craving Soryu's approval? It didn't matter to her what he thought about her, she didn't care about him at all. Did she…?


	11. Chapter 11

As Angel presented the items, she forgot about the earlier incident, completely intent on her mission. She hoped that one of her colleagues had the presence of mind to record this. Actually, they probably were; she was just being too harsh on them. Her eyes accidentally strayed up to the box where she knew Soryu and the rest of the guys were sitting. She caught Soryu watching her through a gap in the curtain. He was too far away for her to read his expression but she knew he was probably smirking at her state. She looked away and when she looked back up after a little while, he was gone.

Finally, the last item: a piece of art which had been stolen from the Metropolitan museum of art _5 years ago_. Angel felt relieved as the auctioneer brought down his gavel, sealing off the last bid. She was hurt and tired, and being up on stage with the harsh light was very uncomfortable and she was dying to get out of the hot, stuffy, crowded room and out of her tight dress, which was now suffocating. As she looked out at the room she caught sight of the Agent- she was sure his name was Tyler- and caught a barely perceptible nod as he turned away to open the exits for the guests to leave. She'd get a progress report as soon as she found an opportunity to touch base with her team.

Angel strode into Soryu's suite, pulling off her heels as she went. Although she loved the extra height it gave her, as it made her feel far stronger and confident when she knew her opponents didn't see her as a tiny unintimidating figure, her feet were killing her and the cool, soft carpet felt like heaven to her hot, aching feet. Soryu followed her in, locking the door behind him but she ignored him.

'So now you're an accomplice.' Soryu said, trying to alleviate the tense silence.

He was painfully aware of his mistake but he was hoping she'd just move on from it. The cold silence she was giving him was worse than if she'd scolded or yelled or cried. Angel just looked up at him silently, regarding him coolly with her rich brown eyes.

'That wasn't an insurance policy exactly,' he continued, blabbering mindlessly to fill the empty space 'Even if you'd gone to the police it would still have been easy to get rid of you. It's just been a pain…'

Soryu trailed off as Angel crossed her arms, her expression getting even colder if possible. Her heels were dangling off her fingers by their straps. The stilettos glinted as they caught the light and, for a moment, they looked razor sharp. Soryu sighed. Clearly he'd have to learn more tact when dealing with women-especially this one.

'Look, about what I said earlier- I was just trying to get the others off my back and it came out harsher than I intended.' Angel just pressed her lips together, her jaw set tight.

It wasn't even a decent apology, let alone making her feel better. Soryu realised she wasn't impressed. Geez what did this woman want from him?

'I'm sorry.' Soryu said, surprising himself.

He didn't often say those words and when he did, he meant it. Unable to stop himself, the rest of the words came out in a sort of tumbling rush.

'It wasn't that you weren't looking gorgeous tonight because you were. I mean- you looked good-more than good- like amazing. Not that you didn't already look good, I mean-you did- you always do. I mean-' Soryu was tripping over his own words, confusion spreading across his face as he tried to explain himself, doing a rather poor job of it.

Catching the small suppressed smile on her face, Soryu immediately collected his cool.

'I mean, whatever woman. I don't live to please you.' His cold, snarky attitude was back and Angel raised an eyebrow at him, seeing clearly through his charade.

She nodded at him before turning to go into her bedroom. She could hear him kick the table when he thought she was out of earshot, muttering 'Dammit', and she couldn't supress a giggle at his frustration. Poor Soryu, she'd only been there for a few days and already the cool, Hong Kong mobster was a confused mess.

As she spent more time with Soryu, she learnt lots about the auctions. The IVC was a front- an excuse to call all these rich and important people together. All the people were invited there specifically by one of the 5 main sponsors, or by other sponsors that were a part of the auction. It had started as a way for the thief Mitsunari Baba to get rid of his goods, but they'd quickly expanded.

The whole thing was headed by Eisuke Ichinomiya and he kept lists of all the goods auctioned, the buyers and sellers of the items, and information with regards to all of them. If she could get her hands on those lists, she'd be a hero. Soryu was participating in it to expand his business to Japan and as a way to make huge amounts of untaxed money. Ota was in it for the fun and he also served a way of authenticating the goods because of his excellent eye for art and antiquities. Eisuke was also bribing Mamoru to keep quiet about the auctions so the police wouldn't shut it down. The whole dirty operation had been carefully orchestrated to the last detail and Angel would have quite a job bringing it down.

AN: I'm very grateful for all the kind reviews this story has received. It's truly a motivation to keep writing. If you haven't done so yet, I'd appreciate you taking a minute to drop a quick review to let me know your thoughts and ideas on the story. Thank you!


	12. Chapter 12

The auctions ran for a few more days but Angel was staggeringly aware that the IVC was drawing to a close and their window of opportunity would be closing. Soryu and the others had relaxed their guard on her a little bit, once they were convinced that she wouldn't tell or run away. Now she was allowed to come and go from the hotel occasionally, so long as she reported to them immediately when they paged her.

Angel made her way out of the hotel and caught a cab, which left her on the corner, near a bustling area of shops. When she was certain the cab driver was gone. She doubled back on her self a little, snaking through alleys and roads and walking for about 20 minutes, before she reached the Tokyo headquarters of Interpol. She'd made sure no one had followed her before she entered the beautiful, tall, glass building that towered above the city, glinting spectacularly in the midday sun. She hurried through the marble lobby, her heels clacking on the polished material. Ducking through a door that said "Authorised personnel only", she made her way through the long winding corridors and a series of doors, before reaching a seemingly ordinary looking elevator. However, when she got in and hit a series of buttons, the elevator doors closed and a panel opened up with a screen displaying the Interpol logo. As a retina a scanner flashed across her eyes, she pressed her thumb down into a sensor pad and said clearly: 'Interpol agent. Class 1. Senior agent. Code name: Avenging Angel. Project Mad Hatters Tea Party.'

'Welcome agent. Progress report available on your desktop. Note: debriefing with Director Fukushiwa at 12:30 today.' An automated female voice responded.

The elevator doors opened into an office that looked completely different to the elegant but mundane façade downstairs.

This was the real Interpol. People rushed around busily, muttering into earpieces and computer monitors showed a variety of different screens. Some showed criminal and suspect profiles, others were maps or aerial drone photos of certain location. Most of the people were clad in black and weapons hung on the person of every single person there. Paying little attention to them, Angel barked out an order to bring her a cup of coffee to a junior agent who had begun to follow her the minute she stepped out of the elevator, briefing her on what she'd missed.

'I've got a meeting with Fukushiwa now, but tell the rest of the team that I want to see them after to get a full progress report and decide where to go from hereon.' Angel ordered, not even stopping to turn and look at the other agent.

'Yes Ma'am' He said meekly, hurrying off to fetch her coffee and do as she bid.

In his office Fukushiwa was intently studying a file, when he heard a knock before the door swung open and Angel stepped in. She flashed him a brilliant smile, before entering and settling on the chair in front of him. Even in her plain maid's uniform, the woman still looked confident and intimidating. He smiled back warmly. Even though she'd only been there a short while, she'd already proven herself a smart and extremely capable agent. Although she'd been perfectly amicable and greatly appreciated by her team members, she hadn't really gotten close with anybody there. She maintained a cool distance from everybody and hadn't betrayed a single detail of her personal life or emotions. She was such an enigma that they didn't even know her name. Her freelancing code name was the Avenging Angel and most of them just called her Angel, but nobody- not even her previous employers- knew who she really was or where she was from. Nevertheless, he would be sorry to see her go when this mission was over.

'Hello agent. I trust you have made good progress on your mission?'

'Yes sir, I have infiltrated the sponsors of the auction and have gained a lot of information, specifically about their links to the Chinese Mob the Ice Dragons, and their second in command- a man called Soryu Oh. Details about him and his organization are in the progress report file, which I shall turn over at the end of the auctions. With regards to the auctions, you have a list of each of the items sold in all of the auctions this season. My team have infiltrated the security within the auction and we have documented as many of the bidders and sellers and other guests, that we could recognize, as well as what information we have on them so far through collaboration with other information agencies. However, there is a complete list of every bidder and seller as well as who invited them and what they do, for every auction since the start. Unfortunately, this list is well protected in Ichinomiya's own private room, but I assure you I will find a way to procure it.' Angel finished with a polite nod of her head.

'I'm sure you will. Your idea for monitoring the auctions rather than straight up busting it was excellent, and you were completely right! We have gained far more information from all the auctions together than if we'd caught everyone in one auction and let the rest of them slip away. I have deployed other teams dedicated to tracking down the stolen artefacts and contraband items that have been sold as well as tracing the smuggled goods back to their point of origin. Well done, Agent. I was so glad when I heard you were coming to work with us- your reputation precedes you- and I was not disappointed. The improvements you have made have increased the efficiency of our branch greatly. Perhaps you would consider staying on…?' He looked hopeful, unwilling to let go of such an amazing weapon.

Angel gave him a sad smile and he knew she'd decline his offer.

'I'm sorry sir. As much as I have enjoyed the whole educational experience, I'm afraid I must return to England soon. I'm quite homesick and there's nothing for me here anyway.' She said gently, with another apologetic smile.

'Well I really hope you shall reconsider.' He said with a disappointed sigh. 'Thank you Agent, you are dismissed.'

Angel rose and left to find her team and brief them about her meeting with the director and see what they'd done with the information from the previous auction.


	13. Chapter 13

Shortly after she briefed her team, Angel hurried back to the hotel, quickly stopping off at a grocery store to pick up a sandwich. She made it back to the hotel just as her lunch break was finishing.

'Where have you been?' Sakiko asked, worriedly. 'I haven't seen you all day!'

'Sorry Sakiko, I was paired with Chisato today and then I went out to buy some lunch, because I didn't have time to make any this morning, but it was such a beautiful day that I went for a walk after.' Angel said, hurriedly tying on an apron and heading up to the supply cupboard with Sakiko.

'Oh, that's ok. I'm glad you got some fresh air- you've been looking so tired lately!' Sakiko chirped happily.

It was true: between working as a maid, the auctions, investigating Soryu and the other bidders and doing progress reports and managing her team, Angel barely got a minute to breathe, let alone relax. As a result her face had become drawn and pale and the fatigue made her small frame look even tinier. Suddenly, as she was pulling out the cleaning trolley, her pager went off, informing her that she was required upstairs. With a wearied sigh, Angel pulled off her apron and with a quick apology to Sakiko, headed upstairs to the penthouse.

Upstairs everyone had gathered together in the penthouse. As she walked in Baba came up to her and asked, with genuine concern, 'Are you ok Angel? You look exhausted.'

'I'm fine, just tired.' She reassured him.

'Was Soryu too rough on you, last night?' he asked teasingly.

'Stop with the innuendoes already, Baba. It makes you sound like an old man.' Ota remarked.

'Really? I don't think I look like as much as an old man as someone else we know.' Baba grinned shooting a look at Mamoru who was, as usual, smoking nonchalantly by the window.

Angel wondered why she'd been called up. Soryu had been out all day on business, regarding some mysterious thing that Baba claimed was a date. Soryu hadn't denied it… Angel's stomach twisted at the idea of Soryu going out on a date with another woman, but she dismissed it, seizing the opportunity while he was away to sneak to her office. Now, she stood awaiting his return like a faithful dog, she thought of the analogy in disgust. She couldn't wait to be free and finally go home, back to England… although, now that she thought about it, there wasn't really anything waiting for her back home. No family, no boyfriend. Pain twisted in her heart as she remembered her fiancé, who had died on a mission in Dubai a few years before. Even now, remembering the incident was enough to make her throat close up and her heart beat faster. She'd estranged herself from everyone after that, throwing herself into her career. Her family hadn't heard from her in years and the only escape she allowed her bottled up emotions was through the violence and terror of fighting and fleeing.

Soryu walked in, bringing her back to reality as she looked up and saw him with a strange chinese woman, who wearing a traditional Japanese dress. Soryu was looking at her with a huge smile on his face.

'_Huh? I thought Soryu didn't like women very much. Why is he so happy to see her? Maybe… maybe he's finally found the one.'_ Angel thought sadly.

'Hey gorgeous. You're as beautiful as a rose shining with dew.' Baba said smoothly, swooping in at his chance to flirt with another beautiful lady. She _was_ gorgeous.

_'She must be an actress or something._' Angel wondered '_Funny. I didn't really think they were his type_.

'Heehee… You're funny.' Giggled the woman as Baba knelt in front of her, clasping her hands and peering up at her, his warm eyes shining up at her from underneath the brim of his hat. 'You have many strange friends Soryu.'

'Baba's… special.' Soryu said dryly.

Angel regarded them curiously. Clearly this woman knew Soryu very well, there was an air of comfort and familiarity between them.

'And who is this?' The woman asked turning to Angel.

'Oh her? That's just an employee.' Soryu said.

'Oh, it's very nice to meet you. I'm Mei Ling.' She said, flashing a 100 watt smile at her.

'Hello, it's nice to meet you. I'm Angel.' She replied courteously.

'Ooh! Angel! What an unique name.' She squealed in delight.

Angel suppressed a smile. This girl's excitement was adorable. 'Thank you.'

'Mei Ling is the only daughter of the boss of the Bell Crickets- an organization close to the Ice Dragons.' Soryu explained. Ah, another mob group- that explained why Soryu was so close to her. 'She came here from Hong Kong to take care of something urgent.'

'Urgent?' Angel asked.

'Oh, I thought she was your girlfriend.' Ota said disappointedly.

Angel felt her heart rise a little and an inexplicable urge to smile, but she ignored it, annoyed with herself at this reaction. She didn't care who he dated. After his discourteous behaviour with her, she had decided to maintain her distance, but it was impossible to ignore his presence. He'd softened his attitude towards her a little, presumably chastened after Baba's scolding after his behaviour towards her at the auction. Try as she might, Angel was finding it increasingly more difficult, not to be drawn to his presence. She couldn't help but smile at his little, amicable quarrels with Ota and Baba; she felt happy when he smiled. And she'd often caught him watching her absently, with a small smile on his face.

'Woman, I called you here to take care of Mei Ling.' Soryu said roughly, turning to her.

Angel raised an eyebrow at his tone, but didn't say anything.

'Soryu doesn't know the first thing about looking after a girl so I bet he's going to make Angel do it.' Ota said teasingly, with an angelic smile on his face.

Angel grinned with him, amused by Soryu's discomfort. He shot them both a glare.

'How about her, Mei Ling?' Soryu asked, ignoring them.

'She's fine.'

'Mei Ling's a very important guest of mine. If anything happens to her, consider yourself dead.' Angel resisted the urge to scowl at his threat and meekly replied:

'Y-Yes sir.'

Great. Now she was actually baby sitting. How could this job get any worse?


	14. Chapter 14

TThe following day, Mei Ling dragged Angel and Soryu out to show her the sights. While they followed slowly behind her, Mei Ling was practically bouncing in her excitement. She was almost as energetic as they were bored.

'Mei Ling, slow down! We'll lose you.' Called Angel, as Mei Ling darted from stall to stall, wondering in marvel at the most mundane things as if they were the most precious treasures in the universe.

'You're too slow. Hurry UP!' She called back playfully, not slowing down at all.

Angel and Soryu exchanged looks of mutual exasperation. As they hurried through the crowd to catch up with Mei Ling, Soryu couldn't help but admire Angel. She was out of her uniform and dressed casually in a pair of skinny jeans that hugged her figure, emphasizing her curves. On top she had casually slung on a loose cropped top, with a tight vest underneath. Soryu watched enchanted by the glittering hoops dangling from her ears and the swinging gold, ornate pendant that swung around her neck as she half jogged to keep up with Mei Ling. He'd noticed that large silver hoops were here favourite type of earring, and she wore them almost constantly, when she was not working.

He caught himself staring and shook the distracting thoughts away. He couldn't afford to get distracted by her now. Not when he had such an important task on his hands. The daughter of the boss of the Bell crickets was his responsibility and there were plenty of people out there that would seize the opportunity to kidnap her while she was away from the safety of her father and his mob in Hong Kong. Soryu's eagle eyes scanned the surroundings for any suspicious characters or threats, all the while keeping Mei Ling in his line of vision. Thankfully, it seemed they were safe. For now.

Angel hung around Mei Ling for the next couple of days. The girl was so cheerful and full of energy that it was impossible not to feel elated around her. The two were fast becoming friends, despite Angel's efforts to remember her position as a humble maid.

'Are you afraid of me?' Mei Ling had asked, watching Angel's reaction carefully. 'Because I'm the daughter of a mob boss?'

'W-What? N-no…' Angel kept up her pretence of being a meek and fearful little girl.

'You don't have to be, you know.' Mei Ling said. 'I'm perfectly normal, just like you. In fact we're so close in age that we could be _best friends.'_ Angels eyebrows shot up in surprise and mild horror.

This really wasn't her style. She didn't do girly chats and sharing make up tips, or whatever it was that most girls liked to do. No, she preferred to play with guns and knives. She and her girl-friends "bonded" over sparring and target practice.

'Call me Mei Ling.' She demanded with a playful smile.

'Umm… ok Mei Ling…' Angel said hesitantly, looking over at Soryu.

Considering her station, she wasn't really sure if it was appropriate for her to address Mei Ling so informally. Things were a lot stricter in Japan than in the West. However, Soryu didn't say anything.

'Look at you two, hitting it off!' Ota joked 'Hey, you're both exactly the same height, from the back you sort of look like her Angel.' He observed.

He did have a point. Both girls were the same height and Angel was only slightly curvier than Mei Ling, a difference that was not particularly noticeable. And they both had the same straight black hair that fell like a silky waterfall to their waist. From behind it was easy to mistake them for each other- the only give away would be Angel's tan, brown skin, which was a stark contrast from Mei Ling's lily-white, porcelain skin.

'How dare you compare them?!' barked Soryu 'Mei Ling is the daughter of the great Simon Lee. How dare you compare her to that woman? Are you blind? She's a completely different colour, idiot.' He spat.

A frown crossed both their faces but Angel didn't think on it long: Soryu had said something else that had caught her attention. _Simon Lee. _The leader of the moderate mafia faction in Hong Kong. She'd never heard of the Bell Crickets before but it was good that they were coming to know more and more about the politics within the mafia. The more they could take down, the better. She had to tell Xhang, her old partner, as soon as she could. She knew he was more than capable of taking care of that. However, Angel felt a pang of guilt at the thought of having to arrest the father of such a happy, friendly, kind girl. Not many people were as benevolent towards their servants as Mei Ling was- it was the mark of a truly good person. Unfortunately, there wasn't anything she could do.

The next day they were out in the market. Mei Ling had insisted on coming with Angel as she went out for a bit of shopping. Soryu accompanied them, the cold glower a permanent fixture on his face as he followed them. However, Mei Ling was too excited to care and Angel noticed that if she gave him a warm smile, the glower would soften a little bit, briefly. Angel didn't think much of it but everyone else had noticed the soft corner Soryu bore for her, despite his cold pretence.

'So how come you're in Japan?' Angel asked as they sat down at a café for some tea and cake. Soryu sat down next to them and Mei Ling dumped the billion shopping bags at his feet. Angel placed the ones she was holding next to him and both girls giggled at the sight of the tough, cool man surrounded by women's shopping. He scowled but kept quiet, ignoring them and tapping on his mobile.

'I thought you came here on some urgent business.'

'That's right Mei Ling, don't forget the reason you're here.' Soryu said, looking up from his phone. 'You came here to find a fiancé, right? Well, I've arranged for you to meet several eligible suitors. Your father is counting on me.'

'But…' Mei Ling had lost her happy expression and looked sadly at Soryu.

'_Oh, so she's here to have an arranged marriage meeting…_' Angel realised, feeling sad for the poor girl whose expression betrayed her feelings.

Mei Ling obviously did not want to get married. Angel felt a little pang of sadness at her pained look. Marriage was worthless without love- she'd loved and lost and her heart hurt everyday, but to never have loved at all… to be forced into a loveless marriage with a strange man for the sake of business politics was a fate that was incomparable to any Angel could think of. She shuddered to think how she would feel if she were in Mei Ling's place.

'…Can't I have one day, where I don't have to think about that?' She asked pleadingly, looking up at him with those big doe eyes.

'…All right.' Soryu sighed in exasperation, relenting to her pleas.

'So have you known Soryu long?' Angel asked, a wicked grin on her face. It would be fun to know what Soryu was like when he was younger.

'Oh yes! Soryu's grandfather was the previous boss of the Ice dragons so we saw each other a lot.'

'_Wow_,' thought Angel, '_Soryu's like a pure blood mobster. A huge part of it from even before he was born_.'

'And was he always like this?' she asked boldly, a mischievous grin on her face.

'Oh, you mean grumpy and bossy?' Mei laughed and Soryu's scowl. 'Yes, ever since we were little.'

'Watch your mouth, woman.' Soryu growled at Angel. Unfazed, she gave him a dazzling smile which made his heart lurch in a most peculiar manner.

'Oh, you know I'm just joking Soryu…' Angel said with a playful smile.

He hadn't even realised when they'd gotten this comfortable with each other. Shaking his head at their antics he returned to his phone, after shooting her one last cold glare. A moment later, it rang in his hand and he got up to take the call, leaving the girls to their idle chatter.

'Anyway, that guy Eisuke's sooo hot!' Mei Ling continued.

Angel frowned. This was uncharted territory. She had no idea how to participate in 'girl' talk. She'd never really discussed boys much. Even when she was younger, she'd gone to an all girls private school, and her strict family meant she'd never really had an opportunity to meet guys. After that she'd fallen in love with Tom almost immediately in high school and they'd joined MI6 and been together- until that ill-lucked mission which separated them forever. That and her preference for books and weapons over nailpolish and magazines meant that she had no idea how to respond to Mei Ling as she gushed over Eisuke.

'When Soryu told me they were friends from school, I wondered what he was like.' That unexpected statement brought Angel's wandering mind back to the present conversation.

'Wait. Those two went to school together?'

'Apparently. They went to public school in England together.' '_Well, I guess that explains the accent_.' Angel thought absently. She'd always wondered about the faint English accent underlying Soryu's voice, much like her own, but had put it down to him dealing with several western clientele.

'I really hope we can be friends like those two! You don't have to be so stiff and formal around me.' She said warmly, taking her hand. Angel smiled at her friendliness.

'Ok, sure.' She replied shortly, blushing at the kindness Mei Ling was showing her.

'Yaay! I'm so happy. As the daughter of a mob boss, I grew up in a very protected environment and I never really had any friends. I never got to hang out like normal girls, or go shopping, or even try some cake in a small café like this!' She said, taking a large bite of the creamy sponge cake to emphasize her point.

Angel felt sorry for her, imagining the loneliness she must have felt as a child.

'Well, I'm glad you're enjoying yourself.'

'Yeah. Everyone's so relaxed and free here. I've always been treated differently, everywhere I go because I'm the daughter of a mob boss. I'm constantly surrounded by guys with scary faces- like Soryu.'

'Shh- he'll hear you.' Angel laughed.

'I don't care.' She turned around and teasingly stuck out her tongue at Soryu, who dismissed her childish antics with a roll of his eyes. Despite her laughter, Angel could sense a sadness underneath.

'I've never been free to make friends or choose my own boyfriends.' She said sadly, 'But I'm used to it. It's the same for you, right Soryu.' She said raising her voice to call out to Soryu.

'Pardon?' He asked, coming over to rejoin them.

'Normal people are scared of you. Rivals dislike you. Have you ever loved someone? Do you think you'll ever find someone like that?'

'It's wrong to get your hopes up.' He replied curtly.

Angel regarded him intently, pain hidden in both of their eyes. She knew what it was like to be lonely too. After Tom had died, she'd shut herself off from all her friends and family, and everyone else she met barely knew her or wanted to kill her. More criminals hated her than she could even count, and all she had done was her job. Still, her heart ached for the sadness in his eyes. He didn't choose this. She knew that he disagreed with the current Ice dragons' technique of dealing with things. He hated it when innocent people or women got dragged into mafia affairs. He was a good person, brought up in a bad world, and Angel was one of very few people to see that.

RRRING. Soryu's phone rang, pulling him away from them again and Angel watched him go sadly.

'Hey Angel! How about if we sneak away?' Mei asked excitedly.

'Huh? What…' Angel said. She'd been momentarily distracted by Soryu but Mei Ling's suggestion brought her back to the present situation.

'Just come on!' Mei Ling pulled her up before she had a chance to protest.

'No… Mei Ling…this is a bad idea!' Angel called, but the girl was already disappearing into the crowd.

Panicking, Angel followed her- if anything happened to Mei Ling, she'd never forgive herself.

'_The girl is like a puppy, full of energy, kindness and excitement and not a shred of sense!_' Angel thought exasperatedly.

Soryu turned around and immediately noticed the empty space where Mei Ling and Angel had been sitting moments ago. 'Huh? MEI LING?' He called but they were gone.

Mei Ling ran through the street at full speed, finally ducking into an alley, panting heavily.

'H-He'll…never catch us…now!' She said gleefully while gasping for breath.

Angel looked around the abandoned alleyway and realised the danger they were in. She'd spotted two men that had been following them at a distance since yesterday and she knew that with Soryu out of the way, they'd pounce any time now.

'Mei Ling, it's not safe to do this…' Angel refrained from the full scolding she wanted to give the idiotic girl. Had she no idea the danger she'd put herself in. But she didn't dare to say anything harsh, lest she blow her cover. 'You're going to get in so much trouble!'

'You worry too much! Relax, and don't worry about your job, I'll take full responsibility if anyone says anything.'

'Ummm…' Angel looked around anxiously.

She wasn't worried about fighting off a gang of goons, she'd make easy work of it. But she couldn't guarantee Mei Ling's safety and her cover would most definitely be blown. Even if Mei Ling survived, Soryu would definitely kill her for letting Mei Ling get away like that. As expected, before long a shadow fell over them as a hulking big goon appeared behind the two girls.

'You're Mei Ling Lee aren't you? Keep quiet and come with us.' It was the same pair of men Angel had spotted following them earlier.

They lunged forward to grab her and Angel stepped in between, pushing the man back. He stumbled back, surprised at the unexpected strength with which she had pushed him.

'This bitch is annoying me!' he exclaimed in anger.

'You wanna get hurt? Wait one second, she looks familiar! Isn't she that sp-?' The second goon pushed Angel up against the wall and raised a hand as if to punch her before recognition flashed across his face. What he didn't realise, however, was that Angel was pressing a gun, which she'd pulled from the waistband of her jeans, against his stomach. She tensed, ready to pull the trigger before he revealed her identity, when all of a sudden a voice called out from behind them.

'If you move so much as a muscle, I'll shoot.' Soryu's familiar face appeared, towering up behind the goon, a gun trained on the man's head.

Angel discreetly slipped the gun back into the waistband of her jeans, behind her, making the gesture look as if she was simply pulling down her baggy shirt.

'Who do you work for? Why are you after Mei Ling?' He demanded.

'She has a body guard.' Said one goon.

'Let's get out of here!' replied the other, scrambling away from a fierce looking Soryu.

'Hey!' Soryu shouts, but before he can react Angel's acting skills kicked in and she pretended to swoon, collapsing in the alley. '_Pretending to faint is way too much fun._' She thought with mild delight.

She couldn't have allowed Soryu to go after those men. They had been a second away from blowing her cover. Anxiety rolled through her mind. Who were they? How the hell did they manage to recognise her? There was still a slim chance that the thug could be convinced that he had the wrong girl, but Angel was in a dangerous predicament now. She just hoped that they'd seen the last of them.

Soryu leant over her in concern and picked her up as easily as if she was a doll.

'_The poor girl couldn't handle the violence._' He thought tenderly, his expression filled with concern as he carried her back to the car, oblivious to the thoughts running through her mind.


	15. Chapter 15

Angel had recovered by the time they reached the hotel and she followed meekly behind as Soryu as he strode angrily into the elevator to the penthouse. All the initial concern and tenderness had dissipated as she faced the full force of his anger. As soon as the elevator doors closed he turned on her, anger burning in his eyes.

'_What were you thinking?' _He shouted. 'You could have been hurt, or killed. And Mei Ling! If anything happened to her, her father would've killed me. You knew how important she is and still you participated in her childish antics. I couldn't live with myself if anything happened to her. She's my oldest friend and there's no one more important. I would've thought you had more sense.' He said the last bit quietly, but to Angel it was worse than if he had screamed.

'But Soryu,' she spoke quietly, 'I tried to stop her. That's why I followed her- so she wouldn't get in trouble. I would've called you but I didn't want to lose her in the crowd in the market.'

Her quiet, rational tone calmed him down a bit. He knew she was right. As much as they might try they couldn't restrain Mei Ling and Angel had done more than her bit by protecting the girl in front of those nasty thugs.

'_She's a brave little thing, I'll give her that._' He admitted to himself.

After all she'd been through, he didn't know if he wanted to shake her for her reckless bravery or hug her tightly because she was safe.

Fortunately, the elevator doors opened before his emotions got the better of him and he walked out, his cool, emotionless mask back in place.

After he recounted the attack to the others, he made a video call to Mei Ling's father Simon Lee to apologize.

'I'm deeply sorry for allowing this to happen on my watch.' He said apologetically, but Angel felt indignation on his behalf flare up inside her. It wasn't his fault, it was partly Mei Ling's and even then, there was nothing they could have done to stop them attacking. Soryu had been very successful in driving them away and in her eyes, Simon Lee couldn't ask for more.

'No… even though we're only a moderate faction we have a lot of enemies. Apparently they've found out that Mei Ling is away from me and in Japan.' Lee replied, concern and tension etched into his face.

'I think it was a local faction. I'm sure the Japanese mafia aren't too happy about your organization expanding to Japan.'

'Hmm… perhaps it's best for Mei Ling to return to Hong Kong. But right now it's important to establish connections in Japan for the future.'

'_What kind of a father values business relations over the safety of his daughter? These people are aren't past killing her if they thought it would help them manipulate the Bell Crickets._' Thought Angel, incredulous of his words. But this was the mafia after all. Not like any of them were capable of love, Soryu himself had said so.

'Japan's not the economic power it once was, but it's still a driving force in Asia.'

'I want Mei Ling to find a match in Japan, but I want her kept out of harm's way.'

'I'll make sure Mei Ling finds a suitable husband here.' He said quietly, looking up at Simon intently. 'Please rest assured that I will protect Mei Ling, and I will hunt down those who tried to harm her and get rid of them. Permanently.' A violent smile crossed his lips and Angel knew he meant business.

A part of her couldn't help admiring his confidence and bravery- clearly he was a very capable member of the mafia but she'd only ever seen him react like this when someone he loved was in harm's way.

After Soryu hung up, he turned to Angel.

'You will be with Mei Ling 24/7.' He ordered.

'Huh? Why me? I can't fight- surely a body guard would do a better job?' Angel asked in surprise.

Fear fluttered in her stomach- had he realised how skilled she was with weapons and stronger than she might appear at first glance? While Angel had a small frame, taut muscles roped her limbs indicating her true strength. Her body was covered in faint scars from tussles, fights and injuries gained over the years, and while she covered up as much of her skin as possible at all times to hide them, she feared lest he had caught sight of them on accident.

'Yes I know, you're completely useless but Mei Ling won't be too happy if I appoint her a bodyguard.' Soryu said unpleasantly. 'Moreover as I do not know which gang these people are from, I can't trust anyone with Mei Ling. You'd be surprised the things people do for money. Loyalty means very little in the mafia.' Angel wasn't surprised at all, she'd seen more horrors driven by their insatiable lust for wealth, than Soryu could even imagine.

'Yes sir.' She said submissively.

At least now she'd have a reason to not go to work. She brightened up a little bit at the thought. Finally, no more Erika!

'Also I expect you to stand up for her as you did today.' Soryu added.

'And put my life in danger?' Angel asked in surprise.

She would have done it quite happily for her new friend but she was shocked and a little hurt by Soryu's inconsiderate expectation. Soryu's face clouded over, as he registered the flicker of fear he felt at the thought of Angel getting hurt.

_'No this is ridiculous. This girl's life is useless compared to Mei Ling. And how does it matter to me if she lives or dies? I don't care._' He thought angrily, trying desperately to convince himself of it.

'I bought you and I expect you to work off that $20 million I paid for you. And it's not like your life is important in any way.' He replied curtly, turning on his heel and disappearing into his suite. Angel stood aghast, not believing what she'd just heard. For a minute, she'd thought he actually cared about her, judging from the concern he expressed when she collapsed in the alley earlier. Now she could see she was mistaken, clearly the man didn't care about anyone and they were all just means to an end.

'I gotta hand it to ya, kid.' Mamoru drawled, distracting her from her thoughts. 'I didn't think you had it in ya to stand up to them goons like that, you seem like such a tiny timid thing. Good for you.'

Angel smiled at him sadly, appreciating his attempt to make her feel better. Baba came around and put an arm around her shoulder, pulling her with him as he walked out of the lounge into the corridor.

No one was around and Angel, though surprised, kept quiet wondering what he wanted.

'Are you ok?' Baba asked, surprising her.

Had he dragged her out here like this, just to ask her how she was? She looked into his warm brown eyes and was surprised to see that they were full of genuine concern and worry.

'I'm fine.' She said, forcing a smile, trying to shrug off his concern. 'I'm just surprised he hates me that much, I can't think what I could've possibly done to offend him.'

To her surprise Baba burst out laughing, a deep chuckle reverberating through his whole body.

'Hate you? Oh my poor, clueless lady. He doesn't hate you.'

'Don't be ridiculous, of course he does. He hasn't said a pleasant word to me from the moment I met him.' Angel said with a scowl. What was he playing at?

'Angel, he doesn't hate you.' Baba repeated more seriously. 'If anything, I think he's really falling for you.'

All right that's it. Baba was trying to play a prank on her and she wasn't going to fall for it. She shrugged his hand off the shoulder it was resting on and tried to walk away, huffing in anger. But Baba wasn't about to let her go. His hand grabbed hers and pulled her back. She briefly considered breaking his wrist- it would quite easy, just a simple flick- but her better judgement decided against it.

'No, listen!' He said earnestly. 'I know you think Soryu doesn't like you very much, but that's just his attitude towards everyone. The man doesn't know how treat Ladies properly.' Angel opened her mouth to say something, but he quickly carried on, cutting her off. 'But I've observed the way he treats you, he's so much softer when the situation concerns you. He's only that rude because he can't deal with emotions like that. He gave up on love a long time ago, his lifestyle simply won't allow it. He knows that to love you, would be to kill you so he's trying his best to distance himself from you.'

'In that case, why are you telling me all this?' Angel asked, pain twisting in her stomach.

It wasn't fair that Soryu had given up on love- she wanted him to be happy more than anything else, she realised with surprise. But, he couldn't love her, he was _the enemy_, and love was out of the question for her too.

After Tom had died she'd become reckless, taking on far more missions than anyone else, all the hurt and anger exploding into violence. Consequentially, she had more enemies than anyone else: far too many people wanted to kill her and hurt her loved ones. She hadn't talked to her family in 4 years, fearful lest they should come in harm's way. If she fell in love with Soryu, not only would she breaking about a dozen laws but she also felt she'd be endangering him far too much.

'I'm telling you this because I don't want him to give up on this. Alright? In all the years I've known him, I've never seen him act this way- I know this could be the start of something real, if you'll excuse the clichéd phrase. I really mean it.'

'I'm sorry Baba. I mean no disrespect but even if what you said was true, which I seriously doubt, then I can't love him back. We're just too different. He's a Hong Kong mobster, his life is too dangerous and I'm just not that kind of a person.' Angel said apologetically.

'If that's how you feel, I can't force your decision, but know this. I can tell you have feelings for him. I can see there are strong emotions warring inside both of you. I just hope you'll find the courage to help each other out.' Baba said with a final smile.

Angel walked away, slightly shaken from the strange maturity her light hearted friend had shown in this encounter. How could what Baba was saying be true? Soryu had never done or said anything that would make her feel appreciated or showed any inclination towards her. But, try as she might, she couldn't deny she felt very strongly towards him. Just what those feelings were, she had yet to figure out.


	16. Chapter 16

The next day, Angel accompanied Soryu and Mei Ling to his office, lugging with her Mei Ling's several heavy bags, full of gifts, make up clothes.

'_She spent an hour getting ready this morning, why does she still need so much stuff? Is she expecting to get run over and have to get completely redressed again, or something?_' Angel thought sourly.

She loved the girl, but really just didn't understand her need for so many things. As they entered the office Angel glanced around, taking in all the details.

It was a modern, pristine office and nothing about it betrayed connections to the mafia or any illicit dealings. Or so it would appear to the untrained eye. Angel's keen observation however picked out all the little details that suggested the darker dealings going on here. For example, she could spot weapons concealed under the clothing of all the people working there, a brief glance over the desks showed paper work and documents concerning mafia operations and drug deals that she knew about, as well as other things which she suspected weren't so innocent either.

The people at the office were incredibly friendly, fawning over Mei Ling who graciously acknowledged all of them.

'We've been waiting for you Miss Lee.' They greeted them, as they walked through the other, completely ignoring Angel-which suited her just fine as it meant she could snoop around unnoticed.

'Who's this?' A tall man with a scar running down his face stepped in her path, running his gaze over her entire body.

Angel hoped that all the weapons she had concealed around her body were completely hidden.

'Oh, this is just Mei Ling's maid.' Soryu tossed a brief glance at her and then moved on, the rest of the company ignoring her as well.

Angel chewed her lip, being treated like a servant wasn't something she was used to, and even then the way Soryu treated her, as if she was worthless, was enough to make her blood boil. Nonetheless, she kept her cool, playing her part with flawless accuracy.

'_Huh? Looks like my old Boss was right._' She thought with surprise. '_This mission did teach me some patience and humility after all_.'

As Soryu dragged Mei Ling off to discuss the meetings with her, Angel was left to her own devices, and she seized the perfect opportunity to snoop around and see if she could dig up any dirt on the Ice Dragons. Her expertise came into play as she slipped unnoticed past all the workers in the office, mentally sifting through words and information she recovered from just a mere glance at the paperwork and computer screens around the room. At the back of the office there was a door, which she slipped through to discover a room on the other side. The room was empty, with the exception of a few exquisite paintings hanging on the walls. However, Angel's keen sense's detected that there was more to it than met the eye and after a brief inspection, she lifted one of the biggest paintings to discover a heavily reinforced steel door that was protected with some sort of security device. After a quick assessment, she decided it was a single circuit, series 920 digital code lock. Plucking a bobby pin from her hair, she swiftly unlocked the panel and broke the circuit, using a precise method to avoid tripping the alarm. With some effort, she pried the door open and went inside.

The door led to some kind of vault, and inside were some of the most exquisite, though highly illegal, weapons Angel had seen. As well as fire arms, there were military-grade bombs and grenades, and documents detailing the mafia group it was coming from.

_Sellers: The Bell Crickets._

_Net worth acc. Current market value: +/- $50 million USD._

_Forwarding Groups:_

_Pangea_

_The Blue Dragonfish_

_The Unlucky Cat…_

Angel scanned the paper work realising that these goods had been the subject of two individual Interpol operations- Operation Real and Operation Pangea- for the last year. Realising she couldn't dwell, she quickly took several snapshots of the room, being careful not too touch or move to many things.

Soryu looked around the room with a bored expression on his face. He had settled the dates for all the marriage meetings and shown Mei Ling the pictures and profiles of all her potential suitors. Now, however, his eager subordinates had snapped her up, fawning over her and eager to please. Mei Ling had gone along with it all too happily, delighted to be the subject of such kind attention. She got on fantastically with them, especially Ryosuke, his overeager, childish and almost puppy-like assistant. As the group went off, Soryu was left behind, feeling as though something was missing.

'_Angel_.' He realised '_Where on earth has she got to?_'

He looked around the office and realising she wasn't where he'd left her his heart started to beat faster. Doubt and suspicion building up in his mind, he headed towards the back; to the room where the Ice Dragons stored some of their most important and confidential goods and documents.

The handle on the door turned, and Soryu swung the door open, gun drawn, to find... Angel standing innocently in the centre of the room, admiring one of the paintings on the walls. He glanced to his right, at the Cezanne painting behind which lay the door to the vault and, thankfully, it appeared untouched.

'Oh, hello.' She said quietly, turning to face him, an angelic smile on her face. 'I-' She broke off as Soryu shoved her against the wall, bringing his face dangerously close.

'What the hell do you think you're doing?' He asked, his voice quiet but bitingly cold and full of menace. Angel's heart began to beat faster at his proximity. She was trapped. Pinned against the wall, with Soryu's hand- the one holding the gun- above her head, and his large frame cutting off any escape. They were so close that Angel was certain that he could hear her heart thumping. From her vantage point, she was able to see every plane on his face, her eyes helplessly tracing the curve of his jaw down to his neck. She could see every fleck in his cool grey eyes, filled with intense fury.

'If anyone but me had found you here, they'd shoot first and ask questions later.'

'Oh…' Angel felt a sense of relief- he didn't suspect that she'd discovered their secret. 'I'm so sorry. Soryu.' She said pleadingly, looking up at him with those endearing brown orbs, 'I-I was bored and I just wanted to have a look around a-and I then I found this room and I j-just couldn't help myself.'

Her tone had started off fearful but turned wondrous, eyes shining with joy as she spoke excitedly about the paintings lining the room.

'They're so beautiful.' She breathed, with a blissful expression on her face, not entirely lying. 'I had no idea that you enjoyed art.'

'Oh… well…' Soryu stepped back, surprised and a little bashful at his earlier aggressiveness. 'It was Ryosuke's idea, something to brighten up the office. God knows we can afford it. Anyway, you really shouldn't be wandering around here like this. Remember your place woman. Now get out of here before I change my mind and shoot you.' He shoved her towards the door and Angel gladly hurried out, the photographs safely stored on her phone, which she'd tucked into the pocket of her jeans.

Long after Angel had left, Soryu still stood silently looking around at the paintings, deep in thought. Angel was right, the paintings possessed an exquisite beauty he'd never had time to stop and admire. There were at least three old masters and though he was no expert, even Soryu was not blind to Van Gogh's brilliant portrayal of the hallucinations in his mind through the swirling, dancing stars in his 'Starry Night'.

_'This girl,'_ he thought to himself, '_Her innocence and joy shines so bright I find myself carried away by it. I've never felt this way before: she preoccupies my thoughts and I'm driven half mad by the images of her, constantly teasing my mind. But can I trust her? I must be careful because there is something about her that's not quite right. Beautiful and timid as she may be, I sense a lion beneath those doe eyes of hers_.'


	17. Chapter 17

Mei Ling's happy, bubbly attitude was subdued for the entire drive as they went to meet the first of her suitors.

'What's the matter Mei Ling? Are you not feeling well?' Angel asked gently, mildly concerned that the one person she knew who _never_ shut up, hadn't uttered a word for almost a full hour.

'No, it's not that. I'm fine.'

'Then what's the matter?'

'It's just…I really don't want to get married!' she said, turning to face Angel. 'I don't want it to be a business deal. I want to fall in _love_.' She exclaimed, her voice thick with emotion.

'Oh Mei Ling…' Angel soothed.

'Oh, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to put you in an awkward situation.' Mei Ling said, turning to look out the window.

'No, you didn't- I'm so sorry. Hang on, Soryu was saying earlier that all your father appointed him to do was set up the meetings, beyond that he is to completely respect your wishes, right?' Soryu who was sitting at the front, turned round at the mention of his name.

Their eyes met and he wondered to himself:

_'What is she getting at with this?'_

'Well, in that case,' Angel continued, 'You don't have to pick one of them. You can just say that none of these men were worthy of you and then you don't have to marry them. Right…?' Angel asked uncertainly.

She wasn't sure exactly how strict Mei Ling's father was and she half-feared Soryu would scold her for putting such ideas in Mei Ling's head, but to her surprise he gave a small smile. It was barely perceptible, but still, it was something. Angel felt her heart rise and she smiled confidently at Mei Ling, who had a massive grin across her face.

'You are a genius! I love you. Seriously. Now I don't have to marry a man I don't love. You'll support me, won't you Soryu?' She asked hopefully.

'When have I not?' He responded with a roll of his eyes, but Angel saw he was smiling and knew he was joking.

'_He must really love Mei Ling_.' She thought happily as the tense mood in the car dissipated completely.

'This is Daisuke Shibusawa, boss of the Gizakura yakuza syndicate.' Soryu introduced Mei Ling to her first suitor.

Angel, standing unnoticed in the background was watching the scene with interest.

_'A yakuza boss._' She observed. '_I wonder how many innocent people he's killed._' She thought with disgust.

The man himself appeared repulsive- a rich but greasy-looking sleaze bag who had been staring lecherously at Mei Ling's ass and breasts from the moment she'd walked in. The room was filled with heavily armed men and Angel shrunk back appearing meek and frightened, to keep up appearances. Nonetheless, if that douche bag tried anything with Mei Ling, she knew she'd spring to action immediately, undeterred by his tough-looking bodyguards. Although she was expecting a boring conversation about marriage-related issues, Angel was pleasantly surprised when they began discussing internal mafia politics.

'_These guys just make it way too easy for me._' She smirked inwardly.

'…So I just can't tolerate the actions of the kids in the Aoki syndicate.' Shibusawa was discussing the actions of another Japanese mob with Soryu.

'I see. It might be beneficial to get rid of them as soon as possible.'

'I'd really appreciate your help with that.' Shibusawa fawned, eager to gain the favour of the young, powerful mobster.

From what Angel had seen so far, Soryu's mob, The Ice Dragons, was clearly at the top of the food chain. As for Soryu, he was in charge of this Japanese branch of the Ice dragons and one of the youngest leaders in the group, next in line to become boss of the syndicate. However, despite his skill, he was not ruthless. Angel knew there was more to Soryu than the appearance of the cool, Hong Kong mobster. He disagreed with the current mob boss's way of running things, he wanted to avoid innocent people getting hurt; to keep women and children out of the way and only deal with mob politics rather than more serious infractions like the prostitution of minors. It was very interesting to hear his views on the judicial system and his way of doing things.

_A few days ago:_

_'Why are you participating in the auctions?' She had asked him after one of the first auctions she'd been to._

_'Because of the enormous profits I can make, without having any of it taxed. That's what I'm after.' Angel's eyes had narrowed at his selfish intents._

_'What you're after… Does everyone in the mafia do this?'_

_'It takes money to run a large-scale organization like the mafia. Taking a hand in the Tres Spades operation was a great opportunity to do business in Japan.' He said it so casually, as if he was merely a normal businessman expanding his horizons. The number of people he must have silenced to allow such an operation to run…It made Angel's blood boil just to think of it. How could he be so callous?_

_'You look like you've got something to say.' Soryu observed._

_'I-it's just that… c-committing a crime is wrong and I d-don't think it should be easily forgiven.' She said, expecting a reprimand for her boldness. _

_She simply hadn't been able to stop herself._

_To her surprise, Soryu replied coolly, 'What is a crime?'_

_'Sorry?'_

_'A crime is a violation of a law, right? So who decides those laws?'_

_'People?' Angel said, wondering what he was getting at._

_'Powerful people. People with money and power create rules to protect their assets, and those are called laws. The right and wrong you speak of is a value system created by powerful people. Don't push those values onto me.' Angel paused in thought. _

_She'd never considered it that way, she supposed he did have a point. Emboldened by the fact that they were having a rather intelligent, philosophical discussion, she pressed on._

_'But Soryu, not all laws are created to protect property. The most important ones are those that protect people. How can you justify murder? Or forced prostitution? Or the kidnapping of minors by sexual predators?' She asked passionately. _

_Soryu replied in the same calm tone._

_'I don't.'_

_'Huh?'_

_'I don't believe in the harming of innocents, I wish we could keep women and children and innocent men away from our dealings. If it was up to me, I would. Unfortunately, our new boss is blinded with his greed for money- I know the Ice Dragons have built up quite a notorious reputation, but it wasn't so evil when my grandfather used to run it. One day, I hope I can run it just like my grandfather used to, with honour and integrity.' Suddenly his face closed up and Angel knew he wasn't going to divulge anything more about his feelings or ambitions to her tonight. She wondered why he'd told her as much as he did. _

_'Honour and integrity amongst criminals, huh? I never thought I'd see the day.' She thought, shaking her head._

Shortly after their discussion of the movement of the Aoki syndicate, Shibusawa noticed the bored expression playing on Mei Ling's face and the conversation turned to the topic of their marriage. No longer interested, Angel's mind began to drift and she found herself studying Soryu. Impeccably dressed as ever, Soryu sat looking cool and handsome in his light grey, hand tailored suit, accented with a splash of colour in the form of his dark blue shirt.

'_The blue sets off his eyes nicely._' Angel thought dreamily. _'WHOA! Where did THAT come from?_'

It wasn't like her to get lost like that; enraptured by a handsome man. Nevertheless, she couldn't stop herself wondering what it would be like to play with that teasing lock of black hair that insisted on falling into eyes.

'_Aaah! Get a hold of yourself woman! Pull it together. You can't have him. No! OFF LIMITS!_' she warned herself, but she couldn't help thinking about what Baba had said.

Could it be that Soryu liked her?

'_He certainly doesn't show it._' She thought sourly, as he had completely ignored her presence so far. Sighing, she looked away, turning over details of her mission in her mind.

Unbeknownst to Angel, Soryu had been watching her stare at him out of the corner of his eye. He'd been so distracted that he'd accidently agreed to help Shibusawa with his Aoki problem. When she turned away, it he glanced over at her, wondering what she was thinking.

'_Be realistic. She'd never want you. Not after the way you've been treating her._' He thought bitterly.

His self-deprecation was an inherent personality trait. He'd given up on women and love after he had watched several loved ones of other members of the mafia die. He'd vowed that he'd never let anyone he loved get hurt like that, but for that to happen he had distance himself from everyone. He never let anyone get close to him. To love him was to die.

'Whew, I'm glad that's over. What a creep!' Mei Ling laughed as they hurried out to the car.

She couldn't wait to be shot of that place, that man had been a real douchebag and they didn't have a single thing in common.

'One down, countless more to go!' Angel said laughingly, equally glad to be out of that stuffy apartment, where she'd contemplated over a dozen ways to kill Shibusawa after he'd playfully pinched her on the rump. Giggling they made their way back to the hotel, with an exasperated Soryu following nearly pulling out his hair in frustration.


	18. Chapter 18

Angel spent more and more time in the Ice Dragon's office as she accompanied Soryu and Mei Ling. Aside from learning a lot about internal mafia politics (all of which she'd forwarded to the relevant teams handling each area) she also learnt a lot about Soryu. All his subordinates seemed to truly admire and respect him. Their loyalty was infallible, especially that of Ryosuke who looked up to him like a role model. It was sweet to see a tender side of Soryu: he clearly had some sort of brotherly attachment to the young boy.

Nevertheless, she would be glad when these marriage meetings were over because she was tired of walking around as Mei Ling's personal servant and working in the hotel as well as writing up and handling the information she'd dug up for her own mission as well as others'.

Angel was lying with her head on the table of the break room: her exhaustion had drained her completely. As her concerned co-workers began to gather around her, the penthouse pager rang, informing her she was required upstairs. _Again._

'Hello, my Angel.' Baba greeted her warmly with a flirtatious play on her name. 'Doesn't she look as beautiful as ever, huh Sor?' He asked turning to Soryu.

'You mean as _plain_ as ever. Don't ask me, I don't see anything special in her.' He replied brusquely, embarrassedly brushing off Baba's teasing.

'I liked you better in that long dress of yours. You looked exquisite.' Eisuke murmured to her throat, suddenly appearing behind her.

Angel froze, unsure of how to respond to the unexpected situation.

'Hey! Don't tell me you're interested in Angel too, Eisuke?' Ota asked incredulously.

'I'm tired of beautiful women.' He smirked at her.

'Oi! What's that supposed to mean?' Angel snapped, switching to English in her frustration.

She always sounded more menacing in her native tongue.

'My, my, someone's got a temper.' A voice came from behind her. She turned around to find a cloud of smoke blown in her face causing her to begin coughing violently.

'_Jesus Christ, what the hell does that man smoke?_' She wondered as the vile tasting smoke pricked at her throat.

'Hey Kishi, don't smoke in front of Angel like that!' Soryu spoke up indignantly.

Angel was surprised but she'd noticed he was growing more and more annoyed with all the attention the other guys were showering on her.

'_I'm sure Baba put them up to this, to make Soryu jealous._' She thought with a smile.

'Looks like someone likes their new toy.' Mamoru smirked.

'I just don't want her smelling like smoke at the meeting. It'll ruin the whole thing if Mei Ling turns up with a maid who smells like a nicotine addict.' Angel blushed a little at that, because she did enjoy a cigarette or two every once in a while.

'_Would Soryu disapprove? Hang on, why do I care whether Soryu approves or not? It's none of his business._' She thought to herself.

'Sure, sure.' Kishi replied sarcastically.

'…Did you not hear me?' Soryu was beginning to look angry.

'What's that?'

'Hey guys, come on please don't fight!' Angel stepped in; she didn't want the joke to go too far.

'You heard her.' Kishi said, walking back to the window.

'Oh? If you want to be bathed in smoke so bad, how about I tear that dress off you right now? There'll be no obstruction then.'

Angel couldn't help herself and burst out laughing at what he'd said and the others joined in, struggling to control themselves. Realising what it had sounded like, Soryu began blushing profusely.

'Shut up woman! You know that's not what I meant.' Soryu snapped, shuffling uncomfortably.

Angel clasped her hand over her mouth, trying to stifle the laughter.

'S-s-sorry!' She said, still giggling a little.

Fortunately for Soryu, Mei Ling made an appearance and all attention turned to her.

'Come on Mei Ling. We need to go. Now.' Soryu said, practically running out of the room, the other two following with huge grins on their faces.

'Please! When can I see you again?' a man asked..

'I'm afraid I have to decline your offer!' Mei Ling said politely but firmly, pushing away the hand of the suitor who was desperately clinging on to her in an attempt to make her stay.

'No! Please Mei Ling! We were Meant TO BE!' He cried.

The president of a loan shark company had become seriously infatuated with Mei Ling and they were desperately trying to fend him off.

'Hey! Get your hands off Miss Lee!' Ryosuke yelled defensively.

Soryu had been watching them and now stepped forward.

'She's clearly uncomfortable. Please stop.' Angel was watching, assessing the situation carefully. Though he seemed harmless, she knew more than most that their situation could get very dangerous, very quickly.

'What?! Aren't you the go between here? Isn't it your job to set us up?' He asked incredulously.

'My job is to find a suitable partner for her. And she is very important to me.' He gently pried the President off Mei Ling.

_'What does he mean, important?_' wondered Angel. Could it be that Baba was wrong and he loved Mei Ling instead?

'The Bell crickets and the Ice Dragons have a very close association.' Soryu continued and Angel exhaled in relief- it was merely business.

They walked away, eager to get as far from that man as possible.

'Miss Lee, you really should be more careful. It's those kind of men that turn out to be stalkers!' Ryosuke said indignantly.

'Aww, thanks Ryosuke, but don't worry 'bout me. I'll be fine!' Mei Ling replied, her spirits undampened.

'Wait here, I'll go get the car.' Soryu said. 'It's quite some way to the hotel.'

He left, disappearing around a corner to get the car.

'Mei Ling!' A voice called out from behind them and Angel saw the President standing, behind them panting.

'I thought you left?' Mei Ling asked, puzzled.

'I can't give up on you, so I waited until Soryu left.' The man lunged towards Mei Ling but Angel stepped in-between, shoving him back.

'Get it into your head. She said no.' Angel said coolly, but still shielding Mei Ling.

'Get out of my way, bitch! You have no place to talk amongst your superiors.' He snarled at Angel.

'Hey! Don't talk to Angel like that, she's a part of our family.' Ryosuke shouted in indignation.

Angel's heart felt warm as she watched his fury rise on her behalf. She didn't realise how much of an impression she'd made on him.

'Aaagh!' The man tried to push past her but she caught him and shoved him, walking him backwards with surprising strength.

The man staggered backwards and fell over, caught unawares by her surprising strength. She turned around, grinning triumphantly at the other two and only had a moment before Ryosuke pointed behind her screaming,

'Look out!'

She whirled around, expecting the man to just be getting up to try and lunge at Mei Ling again, but to her surprise there was a sharp pain in her abdomen. Looking down, red bloomed across her beautiful dress as she realised he'd plunged a knife into her. Time turned to treacle as her senses began to dim and darkness creeped into her vision. The heavy blood loss meant she was having difficulty standing and she staggered back, still in shock. Mei Ling's screams had brought Soryu running and the President fled the scene, fearing for his life. After a brief moment of hesitation, Soryu decided not to chase after the man and turned to Angel instead, who was in desperate need of attention. He caught her, supporting her swaying figure as she pulled out the knife with a grimace. Hands shaking, she dropped the bloodied instrument on the ground and pressed her hands to her sides, trying to stem the blood flow.

'I-I'm fine.' She said shakily, feeling rather embarrassed at how weak she was at present.

The overworking, stress about Mei Ling and the auctions, and lack of sleep had all crescendoed into one fatal slip of concentration.

'Don't be ridiculous! You are not fine! You're losing too much blood. We don't have time to get you to the hotel or wait for an ambulance. Ryosuke, take Mei Ling back to the hotel in the car. Keep very careful watch on her, although I don't think he'll be coming back again. If he values his life.' A fiercely scary look crossed Soryu's face then. 'My apartment is just down the block, I'll take her there.'

Just then, Angel's legs gave out and she almost collapsed, if it weren't for Soryu who swung her up into his arms, carrying her bridal style.

'Yes sir!' Barked Ryosuke, who shot one last concerned glance at Angel, before dragging a sobbing Mei Ling over to the car.

Soryu began jogging, still carrying Angel in his arms, as though she weighed nothing.

'S-s-sorry.' Angel choked out, embarrassed at how incapacitated she was. Tears were rolling down her face at the pain and she turned her face to hide in Soryu's shirt. She hated people seeing her cry.

It wasn't the first time she'd been injured; she'd been in knife fights before and could usually walk away with most of her wounds, but this time he'd plunged the whole blade in. It had buried itself too deep, damaging her more than she was sure she was capable of surviving. She wasn't sure if she'd make it through this one…

Soryu glanced down at the frail, bleeding figure in his hands and his chest tightened with fear for her. He couldn't bear it if anything happened to her, he realised with a jolt.

'Don't apologise. It wasn't your fault. It was mine. I never should have left you.' He said soothingly, cradling her closer to his chest.

Angel was in too much pain to answer, instead twisting the cloth of his shirt tightly in her small hands, trying to fight the pain and hang on to consciousness. She managed to stay awake until he opened the door of his apartment, at which point the pain became too much to bear and she passed out.


	19. Chapter 19

For the next few hours Angel drifted in and out of consciousness. She was vaguely aware of Soryu rushing around with bandages to stop the blood flow and after he'd stemmed the most of the blood, a doctor appeared.

When Angel woke up again she heard voices above her head.

'It's a good thing you brought her home instead of trying to get her to the hospital Mr Oh. If she'd lost much more blood she could've gone into a coma. Luckily, the knife missed the vital organs and any major arteries or nerves. However, it did nick a small artery hence the extreme blood loss. I've patched her up and she'll be just fine, give her lots of rest for a couple of weeks and she'll be fit as a fiddle.'

'Thank you so much doctor.' She could hear Soryu's voice.

'Alright, I'll take my leave now. And don't worry so much Mr Oh, I promise you. It's just a bad scare- nothing more.'

'_Soryu? Scared?_' Angel didn't understand. However, before she could ponder over it any further, her head began to feel heavy again and she was dragged back into unconsciousness.

An hour or so later, she woke up again, her head feeling much clearer after the rest. She realised she was alone and quickly tried to get up, but fell back with a small scream as a sharp pain pierced her side.

'Aaah!'

'What? What happened!' Soryu came running at the sound of her cry.

Seeing her clutching her side in pain, he ran over to her, prying her hands away to take a look at the bandages.

'No, it's nothing. I'm fine.' She tried to reassure him. 'I just tried to get up too quickly.'

'You idiot! What were you thinking, standing up to him like that anyway?'

'Huh?'

'Don't you know to be careful around men like that. The people I deal with, Angel, are very, _very_ dangerous. You almost _died!'_ He looked at her with a fevered look in his eyes.

They'd turned dark grey with worry, she noticed. Angel was surprised and touched at his concern for her. His hands began to open the bandages to check that she hadn't torn any of the stitches.

'_They're surprisingly gentle for such large hands_.' Angel thought, wincing a little as they probed the wound.

'I'm sorry.' She said quietly.

She really was very embarrassed at having been caught unawares like that and causing such a huge inconvenience for him.

'Don't apologise.' He said tenderly, wrapping her up again with fresh bandages. Why was he being so nice to her?

Now that she had a control on the pain, Angel had a chance to look around and take in her surroundings. They were in a large apartment, which she took to be Soryu's house. She didn't know he had a place in Japan. Although it was clean and tidy, it wasn't as luxurious as she expected it to be. It was decorated tastefully in a classical way, and was clean and tidy- as if expressing its owner's personality. Looking up at him, she saw him gazing down at her with emotion in his normally cool, grey eyes.

_'Was that love or worry?_' She wondered. Maybe it was both.

Soryu looked exhausted. He hadn't slept a wink the whole night and he'd been by her side the entire time. His shirt was soaked in blood, and though he'd scrubbed his hands, you could still see flecks of her blood on his skin.

'_What would I do if anything happened to her?_' He'd wondered absently to himself as he was watching her small, wounded figure lying unconscious on the bed. He was surprised at his own emotions. When had this tiny, insignificant girl become so important to him? After hours, he'd finally gone to get a glass of water when he heard her scream. His blood turned to ice, fear gripping him as he sprinted back to see what had happened. When he saw her, face contorted in pain, clutching her side all he could think about was that he would do anything to take her pain away.

'_I will make the man who did this pay._' He decided, a silent fury burning in his heart.

'Could I get some water?' Angel asked Soryu.

Her head was throbbing and her throat was so dry it hurt to swallow. Silently he got up and returned moments later carrying a glass of cool water. As she was about to take a sip, the door bell rang and Soryu got up to answer it, promising to be back in a second.

It was Inui-he'd come to see how she was.

'Angel! Are you okay?' I've been so worried!' He gabbled, speaking so fast that Angel barely had a moment to register what he'd said.

'Of course she'd not Ok, you idiot! She nearly bled to death.' Soryu snapped, thwacking him around the head.

Angel forced a smile and said, 'I'm fine Inui. Soryu's taken good care of me.'

'Who the hell put that idiot on the list of potential husbands?'

'Sekine did.' Inui piped up.

'I'll have a word with him later.' Soryu said it calmly enough, but the violent expression on his face made Angel certain that he was going to do a lot more than just 'have a word' with him.

As if on cue, her stomach growled and Soryu sent Inui off to go make some dinner. Seizing the opportunity as soon as he was gone, Soryu turned to Angel and looked at her very seriously.

'First of all, I want you to know what you did was stupid and reckless and don't you dare do anything like that again.'

'Hang on,' Angel interrupted, begin to get irritated at the demanding tone he was using. 'Didn't you tell me that it was my job to stand up for Mei Ling and shield her against people like him.'

'I didn't mean to use yourself as a human shield! And anyway, that was before…' He trailed off blushing

'Before what?'

'Before I realised that you're worth more alive.' Soryu snapped, clearly uncomfortable with the route this conversation had taken.

'Oh?' Angel asked raising an eyebrow. 'In what way am _I_ worth anything to _you_?'

'You're not… I mean… Listen, I'm asking the questions here, don't talk back to me woman.' He looked very flustered and Angel laughed for a second before the pain in her side turned it into a grimace.

Lifting the blanket, she registered for the first time that the shirt she was wearing was not her own. She blushed a little as she realised Soryu must have changed it. She inspected her wound and when she looked up, she caught Soryu staring at the exposed skin. Cheeks hot, she pulled the shirt back down again, avoiding his gaze.

'When I was tending to your wounds, I noticed something.' He said it too gravely for it to be flirtatious. 'You're covered in scars. How did you get so many?'

Oh no! Panic began to rise in her stomach. Looking down so he wouldn't see it in her eyes, she quickly made up a story so he wouldn't suspect her life was a lot tougher than the innocent maid she'd been playing.

'Um… when I was younger my father died and we fell on hard times, so my mother married another man. Unbeknownst to my mother, he abhorred me and took his anger out on me through violence. Some of the scars are from where he cut me with broken glass from his beer bottles. They're torture marks.' She said quietly.

At least she wasn't totally lying- most of them _were_ the result of torture.

'Uh huh. And the bullet wounds?' Soryu didn't look like he believed her.

'Umm, well I ran away from home when I was 18 and before I secured a job or accommodation for myself, I was living on the streets. Inevitably, I had a few encounters with street gangs and I came worse off for it.' She was staring hard at the ground now, refusing to look up at him.

'_It was partly truth,_' she tried to reassure herself, feeling guilty to be lying after all he'd done for her.

'Hmm… alright…' He didn't look 100 percent convinced, but before he had the chance to press on, Inui returned with:

'What is _that?_' Soryu asked, staring in distaste at the charred lumps on the plate that Inui had been proudly proffering up.

'Oh, it's fried chicken.' He said, sadly.

'Put that away, we're getting take out. She already almost died once, she doesn't need food poisoning from your cooking as well.' Soryu said frowning at him.

Angel smiled a little, her heart warming at the affection they were both showing her.

'Well, I have no choice.' Soryu sighed, a little while later. 'You're going to stay here until you recover.' He stated, matter-of-factly.

'What? But, I don't think-'

'It doesn't matter what you think. I can't risk moving you in the state you're in and I don't want that man coming anywhere near you again. It's best to keep you where I can keep an eye on you.' He said it so casually, but Angel was surprised at the fierce protectiveness Soryu was showing her.

He'd rather die than admit it but he really cared for her. She watched him pace around, barking orders to his subordinates on the phone, but all the while staying close at hand.

At first, she'd protested when he tried to change her bandages for her, but after a futile attempt where she tried to change it herself and ended up gasping in pain, he ignored her protests and did it himself, his huge hands working with the gentle deftness that defied expectations. While she was staying there, Soryu became more and more gentle with her, although the extreme protectiveness did get a little on her nerves at times.

'Soryu I'm perfectly capable of cooking dinner.' She snapped, pulling a saucepan back, out of his hands, which had snatched them away.

It had been a couple of weeks and her wound was healing very well. She was feeling much better and though Soryu did not know it, she was used to doing far more strenuous tasks while bearing injuries like this. Making dinner was nothing in comparison.

'No. If you try and work, you'll just make the injury worse and then I'll be stuck looking after you for even longer.' He complained in mock annoyance.

'Don't be ridiculous. I'm fine. Now go sit down. After all you've done- looking after me for so long, it's the least I can do for you. Please! Let me.' She coaxed, ushering him out of the kitchen.

She'd set the table earlier and now came out into the dining room bearing two, beautifully presented, plates of omelettes. She'd lit candles on the table, putting to use two dusty looking candlesticks that looked like they'd never left the cabinet she'd found them in. She had also gotten Ryosuke to bring fresh flowers, which she'd put in a beautiful vase she'd found that had been forgotten on one of the windowsills. Putting it down in front of Soryu, she sat down in front of him, waiting for him to take the first bite. To her detriment, he just frowned at it.

'What's the matter? Don't you like eggs?' She asked anxiously.

'No, that's not it…' Silently, he took a bite and looked up at her with a smile. 'Delicious.'

'Really? You liked it!? It's one of the very few dishes I know to make. I used to make it with my dad when I was little, because it was the only dish he could make, and my mum hated the smell of egg so she refused to cook it herself.'

She was delighted he'd enjoyed it, giving him a hundred watt smile as a reward for his praise. He quickly cleaned off his plate and reached out and grabbed hers, scoffing down the tiny omelette within seconds.

'Hey!' She said protestingly, but she was laughing.

She didn't really mind, not as long as he was enjoying himself- she loved it when he smiled.

'Can I have another one?' He asked, looking at her pleadingly.

'Coming right up!' She went into the kitchen and poured some of the remaining batter into a frying pan, watching it sizzle deliciously. Suddenly, a shadow fell across her and she realised that Soryu had come up behind her. For some reason she had the strangest urge to lean back into his broad chest and have him wrap his arms around her. She smiled at the thought, but dismissed it with a shake of her head.

'No wait- it's hot!' Soryu had snatched the omelette up as soon as she'd slid it onto a plate. Ignoring her he quickly tore of a piece and popped it in his mouth- and almost spit it out again.

'Ah! Hot!' He yelped.

'I warned you!' Angel said, laughing at him. 'Here let me see.' She gripped his chin and pulled his face closer to inspect the burn. 'You'll live.' She said teasingly.

Suddenly, she was incredibly aware of how close his face was to hers- his lips just inches from her mouth and, before she could think better of it, she stretched up on her toes and planted a light kiss on his tempting mouth.

'Better?' She asked with a mischievous grin.

'Umm…' He said, rubbing the back of his neck awkwardly.

Soryu's heart was racing. He wanted, more than anything, to pull her close and kiss her - to show her she was his and his alone. But he knew better. Her wound was a constant reminder of how dangerous it would be for her to stay with him: she would be in terrible danger at all times. Without a word, he turned around and left, leaving Angel to finish off the omelette and tidy up.

Angel watched him go with a sad smile on her face. She hadn't _really_ expected him to reciprocate- he'd built his walls too high. It would take time, she knew, but she was willing to bear it out. It was the first time she'd allowed anyone to get so close to her, after what happened with Tom. She wasn't going to let this one go so easily. With a small sigh she turned around, eating the omelette while lost deep in thought.

AN: Please take a moment to leave a review! I truly appreciate each and every review, no matter how brief. Thank you so much!


	20. Chapter 20

Angel climbed into the giant bed in Soryu's bedroom. She'd been staying there upon Soryu's insistence until she got better, because the gentleman refused to hear her protests that he let her sleep on the ground. Eventually she gave in, with her on the huge bed while Soryu spread a blanket on the ground next to her. She figured he'd get Inui to set up a temporary bed for him in another room at some point, but to her surprise he stayed right by her side.

'What if it hurts in the night and you need something?' He'd replied when she had expressed her thoughts to him.

'That's very sweet of you.' She said with a gentle smile.

For all his cold glares and fierce attitude, Soryu was really just a big softie she'd discovered.

'Tch. It's only because it's a hassle if I have to move from the other room to here every time you need something.' He said, rubbing his neck as he feigned annoyance

Now, she pulled up the silk covers, with her back turned to Soryu, as if trying to hide under the massive sheets. Neither of them had said a word to each other since the kiss and Angel was beginning to feel ridiculous about her bold attempt.

'_Of course he isn't attracted to me - he was probably just being too much of a gentleman to shoot me down immediately.'_

He'd built his walls too high and in trying to break them, Angel realised she'd left her own guard down and, inevitably, left herself vulnerable to the excruciating pain from his rejection. She was hurting more than she had in a long time. She'd lost the love of her life once already and so many years later she dared, _she dared to try to love again_, and all it resulted in was pain. She should never have tried. All love had ever gotten her was hurt.

Soryu watched sadly as Angel determinedly ignored him for the rest of the evening. She was trying to pretend as if the kiss had never happened and it hurt him to go along with it, as if it had meant nothing to him. As if the sight of her wide brown eyes, filled with hurt, didn't stab him sharper than any knife. As if he didn't want to gather her up in his arms and kiss the pain away – to hold her and protect her from any harm or pain. Unfortunately, he knew too well the consequences of living a lifestyle like his, and he would die before he let an innocent woman be put in danger because of him. She would never pay for his mistakes again.

The cool veneer back in place, he went about his business but by bedtime found himself too disturbed to sleep. Switching on a small lamp by her bedside he settled down with a mystery novel to take his mind off his own troubles.

A couple of hours later Soryu was still immersed in the intriguing book. He could hear Angel's soft, even breaths next to him and found it oddly reassuring.

'_I can't believe the hold this woman's got on me. What is wrong with me? It's not like me to be this interested in anybody.' _Soryu thought, wondrous at his own behaviour.

She looked so fragile and delicate now: all that fire and passion gone to leave a state of peaceful vulnerability. As he watched her tenderly, her expression tightened. Though she was still asleep, a frown began to spread across her face and Soryu wondered if she was having a nightmare.

'No! Don't hurt him. Please! I swear, I'll do anything.' Angel began to moan in her sleep. 'NO! Let him GO!'

Her moans became shouts as she thrashed around in the sheets. Soryu leapt up and before he realised it his arms were around her and he pulled her into his chest, holding her flailing arms tightly against him. Angel woke up sobbing; disorientated as her mind tried to separate dream from reality.

'Hush. It was just a bad dream. It's all right. You're safe.' Soryu muttered cradling her as her gasping sobs began to subside.

'Sorry…' Angel began to pull away but he didn't let go.

Although she was embarrassed, she gave up trying to fight it. She was so tired of fighting all the time and her nightmares were painful memories of the past: torture, death, losing her fiancé. So much pain, so much anguish and no one to look after her. She'd done it all on her own. No one ever knew how she'd felt- she'd kept everything bottled up inside.

She'd distanced herself from everyone after Tom's death; her family hadn't heard from her in 5 years and she _barely_ talked to her friends. She was constantly terrified of everyone else getting hurt because of her, and she tried so hard to protect everybody else, that she'd forgotten what it was like to have someone look after her for a change. Cradled in Soryu's arms, she relaxed as she inhaled in the scent of him. He smelled clean and manly, a mixture of soap, sweat and that natural musky scent every guy seems to exude. Her tired brain ignored all logic and she stopped pulling away and worrying about the consequences, relaxing for a change and allowing herself to enjoy the moment where she felt loved, safe and protected.

'Are you ok?' He asked softly, loosening his grip just enough that she might look up at him.

'Yeah sorry about that.' She said with an embarrassed chuckle, coming back to her senses and pulling away from the comfort of his embrace. 'Bad dream.'

She wiped away the tears, a small smile back on her face. She couldn't help but smile when she saw this tender side of him and, although he took it for granted, only the people who'd known her for a long time could tell just how special and rare those smiles - which she handed out so freely to him - actually were.

'Couldn't sleep?' Angel asked, noticing the book and lit lamp behind him.

'Yeah. I was just reading…' He replied gruffly, his hand rubbing the back of his neck as he always did when he encountered an awkward or embarrassing situation. Realising how close they were sitting he shuffled back slightly, a blush colouring his cheeks. Angel pretended not to notice.

"The Dangerous Detective Returns." She read the title out loud in surprise. 'That's a mystery novel right?'

She noticed a pile of similar detective stories oiled up next to the bed.

'Is that a problem?' Soryu asked, his ever-familiar scowl back in place.

'No, I'm just surprised that's all.' She said with a gentle smile. Her voice softened his expression. 'You don't like Mr. Kishi, and well, mobsters don't get along with detectives, but you like reading detective novels…?' She trailed off as he stiffened, watching her silently.

She wondered if she'd said too much but she felt a lot more comfortable with him since she'd been staying there.

'I have to go against the police a lot, but I identify with them a lot too. We're similar.'

'You? Similar to a policeman?' Angel scoffed disbelievingly.

She could see that the skills and methods they employed in their lines of work were similar but she could never compare a mobster to a policeman. Their motives were completely different. She wasn't naïve enough to believe that the police or their methods were never corrupt, but the extent the mob and mafia could go to- well she'd witnessed it first hand. Not a shred of humanity existed in them- they were all cruel, ruthless, greedy and power hungry… Well, all until she'd met Soryu. Dare she believe he was different?

'The structure of both organized crime and the police is similar. There's a strict hierarchy. The strong and ambitious rise to power. The only difference is the means they use to get there.' Soryu replied coolly.

'Don't you think that makes all the difference, Soryu?' She asked him gently, in a way that felt as if she genuinely wanted to discuss the philosophy of it, rather than a snub him for his job. 'I mean, most of the police fight with honour and valour to protect the innocent. Surely, that proves their intents to be so much more honourable and respectable than people who exploit the helpless in the blind scramble for money, power and personal gain. I'm not stupid.' She said quickly as Soryu began to interrupt. ' I know that the police forces are rife with corruption, but at least some _try_ to help. What respect is there for those that pick on the weak and pay no heed to those they hurt along the way?'

She spoke softly, looking into the distance as if recalling a personal experience of hers. His heart ached at the reminder that this woman- this seemingly fragile and delicate little girl, had been through so much pain in the past. Anger welled up in him, at the goons she'd told him had given her the scars across her body. He did not believe in hurting the weak and innocent.

'I don't agree with those policies. There's no honour in picking on the helpless.' He admitted quietly.

He had no idea why it mattered to him what she thought about him. He normally tried so hard to keep people away: exaggerating the terrifying, cold mobster façade in front of others. But with her…

He wanted her to know he was different. That he hadn't compromised his integrity the way his current boss had in pushing the Ice Dragons down a corrupt, shameful road, driven by his blind lust for money.

'Sometimes, I wonder what it would be like to be on their side. The police I mean.' He said it more to himself than her but Angel turned to look at him in surprise.

'_A mobster admitting to wanting to join the police? What kind of a criminal identifies with the police?_' She wondered in awe. '_He seems retain some sort of moral integrity, more so than any mobster I've met till date. There's definitely more to him than I thought._' She decided silently.

This feeling had been getting stronger since she'd met him and she was sure: she was sure that Soryu Oh- the cool Hong Kong mobster who met everyone with a glare- was _good_. She wanted to laugh at the absurdity of it all.

'Do you ever wish you could have a different kind of life?' She wondered aloud, wistfully to him.

'I've never really thought about it. My grand father was the boss of the Ice Dragons. My dad's a mobster… My path in life was already decided when I was born.' The bitterness in his voice made her stomach clench.

Her heart ached for him and she wished more than anything that the circumstances were different. How could she fall in love with a mobster- a criminal? She was a bloody spy, for god's sake! She could relate to him more strongly than she dared to express. Given the opportunity, she wouldn't hesitate for a second to choose a different kind of life. A life where there was no bloodshed or torture or pain. A life free of guilt. A life where she didn't have to lose the love of her life in the worst way possible.

'Have you ever fallen in love with anyone before, Soryu?' She asked, half afraid to know the answer.

She knew it was a bit bold and it really was none of her business, but all rational thinking had gone out of the window when she'd woken up with his arms around her. They had both opened up more than ever before. However, Soryu still clammed up at that question and she realised their discussion was over.

'Less talk, more sleep.' He commanded.

It had been nice to have such a deep and revealing conversation with Soryu. She knew he'd opened up to her more than he did to the others but she couldn't figure out why.

'_Why does he do this to me?_' She wondered. '_Why does he make me feel like I'm special and I matter to him and then suddenly push me away?_'

She sighed inwardly as she realised she was being a bit hypocritical. She could understand his thinking perfectly well. She'd spent all these years building her walls and pushing people away and then she'd done the stupid mistake of letting her guard down for one minute and she'd gotten hurt. He didn't love her and he wasn't going to make the same mistake as she did and let his guard down.

'_This could have only ended badly._' Angel acknowledged, but realised, nevertheless, that she didn't care.

She'd rather have one chance with Soryu than a lifetime with anyone else.

As Soryu began to leave she unthinkingly held his hand to stop him.

'Didn't you hear what I said? Go to sleep.' He said and her face fell.

'_She must still be scared of the nightmares._' He thought, the icy glare softening.

He still couldn't believe the horrors of her childhood- he would like to strangle her step-dad until the light left his eyes. Instead, he settled for protecting her instead. He may not be able to change her past, but he sure as hell would safeguard her now. With a sigh he got back into the bed.

'Go to sleep. I'm right here and I promise I'll keep you safe. There won't be anymore nightmares.'

Angel was touched by this unexpected display of tenderness. She was used to dealing with the nightmares: days of being tortured and watching others being tortured was bound to leave a scar in her mind, but no-one had ever been there to drive the images away. Cautiously, she lay back in bed, eyes watching him warily. What was he playing at? Pushing her away earlier and then acting like _this_? Talk about mixed signals. However, her exhaustion took over her logical thinking and she gave up her long, futile struggle to push him away and rested her head on his broad chest. Inhaling the strangely comforting smell of him, she fell asleep.

Soryu froze as she rested her cheek against his chest. What was she doing? When had this fiery little thing gotten so familiar with him that he didn't even mind her proximity? In fact, his heart warmed with an unaccustomed pleasure as he looked down at the delicate, warm figure. She looked so vulnerable and helpless right now. He couldn't even believe how strong she actually was when she looked like this- relaxed by sleep in his arms, as if she trusted him completely. He wrapped his arms around her, ignoring the small voice in his brain screaming about the consequences and they fell into a deep, blissful sleep.

The mobster and the spy. Both scarred and broken, but still happy, in each other's arms, as they forgot, for one night, their fears and inhibitions. Simply content to let each other heal the wounds no one else could fix.


	21. Chapter 21

Angel opened slowly opened her eyes, still feeling a little dazed with sleep. She was shocked to see Soryu's face inches away from her nose. She gasped and sat bolt upright, before she remembered the events of the previous night. Of course... He'd held her to protect against the nightmares.

'_God knows what had gotten into me to allow that happen_.' She thought distractedly, staring at him as he began to stir.

He'd looked so peaceful in the moment she'd opened her eyes. His face was relaxed and free of the coldness or tension that usually clouded it. He looked so vulnerable and young like that. However, her abrupt jerk as she got up woke him up and he frowned in annoyance at her sudden disturbance. Angel watched him warily, eyes huge and round with surprise and suspicion.

'What happened?' He asked, annoyed.

'N-nothing. Sorry. I just- I forgot about you falling asleep next to me and I was a bit surprised to wake up to someone besides me. That doesn't happen often.' She admitted sheepishly.

'Looking like that? I'm not surprised.' He said grumpily, getting up out of bed. 'Right. Well, I'm going to take a shower and then I have to go back to the hotel because Eisuke wanted to talk to me about some business deal and I need to see Mei Ling.' He said briefly as he made his way over to the cupboard to grab a towel.

'Actually, Soryu, I was wondering if I could catch a ride? I'm feeling fine and I was thinking about getting back to work now. I really can't afford to stay away from my job at the hotel for so long.'

'What! Don't be ridiculous. You're not completely healed yet and I don't need you making things worse because then I'm stuck looking after you.' He spun around in surprise.

'You don't need to look after me. I'm perfectly capable of managing by myself thank you.' She snapped, annoyed at his tone.

She never asked him to look after her- that was his own choice. Now, he was acting like it was some huge favour he'd bestowed on her and she wasn't going to stand for his patronising attitude.

'Besides,' she continued brusquely, 'I wasn't asking for your permission to go back. If you can't give me a ride then I'll get the bus. Sorry for asking.'

'Do whatever you want!' He slammed the closet door angrily and disappeared into the bathroom. Angel sighed, her tight self control returning as her temper subsided almost as quickly as it rose. She straightened out the bed and went to the other bathroom to get dressed.

Soryu walked out of the bathroom, dressed in a navy blue shirt and his usual dark blue suit on top. His hair hung messily down, dripping water onto his shoulders. Coming into the living room he saw Angel, dressed again in that awful uniform of hers, holding two mugs of coffee in her manicured hands.

'Here: a peace offering.' She said softly, handing him the steaming hot mug.

'Thank you.' He said, sipping the hot, steaming liquid.

He winced a bit as he swallowed. It was a bit too sweet and white for his liking.

'You don't like it?' She asked with a disappointed pout.

'No it's fine. You drink it like Eisuke does: sweet and milky.' He replied with a chuckle.

'Sorry about earlier- I'm not really used to feeling so incapacitated.' She said, looking at the ground.

'Hmm…' Soryu finished his coffee in one quick gulp. 'Let's go, woman.' He swept out of the room, an inexplicable smile on his face.

'Angel! Where have you been? Mr Kenzaki said you weren't well. What happened?' The moment Angel stepped into the hotel, her friends swept her up, bombarding her with worried questions.

'I'm fine! I'm fine. Really!' She tried to assure them. 'I had a run in with a mugger and came off worse for it, but I'm fine now. Just a small knife scratch. I'm good to work.'

She managed a smile at their touching concern. All day they swamped her with excessive care and concern, making sure she wasn't straining herself and helping her with even the most menial tasks. Even Erika laid off her a bit, allowing Chisato and Sakiko to help Angel with the chores. Her shift ended before lunch today so she wandered up to the penthouse to find the others.

As she stood in the elevator, her mind wandered back to the phone call she'd made to her office, earlier that week.

_'Hello, this is Agent Angel. Code 237423. Clearance level 1. Director Fukushiwa please.' Angel said clearly into the mobile phone, the voice sensor on the other side recording and matching her voice frequency with her identity profile._

_'Agent. Been a while since I heard from you last.' Angel bit her lip at the displeasure in his voice._

_'Sorry. I'm afraid there was an incident. Not a big deal- I just got knifed but I haven't had a chance to report back or inform my team since then. Security is pretty tight around here and we wouldn't want anyone getting any doubts, now would we?' She replied coolly back, the authority in her tone balanced by just the right amount of humbleness and humility. _

_She knew how to handle people extremely well and was used to using her charm to get out of sticky situations. Fukushiwa, as she had predicted, fell for it and his voice softened._

_'Oh. I'm so sorry Angel. I didn't realise you had been injured. I just wanted to inform you that since the end of the IVC we have confiscated the majority of the contraband items and apprehended the leaders of most of the criminal cases we got leads on. Don't worry, none of it can be traced back to Tres Spades so your cover won't be compromised. I just wanted to congratulate you on a job well done and inform you that, for the time being, Project Mad Hatter's Tea party will be suspended until the next auctions and I hope to see you soon to discuss any further course of action.'_

_Angel was speechless. She knew that since the IVC had ended, there was very little she could do now, but she realised with surprise, the thought of leaving Tres Spades caused her heart to sink a little. Could it be she was actually beginning to enjoy the company of Soryu and the other bidders?_

_'Yes of course, Sir.' She responded, no emotion betrayed in her voice._

Now, as the doors of the elevator opened up into the luxurious executive lounge she pushed those thoughts out of her mind. She'd deal with them later.

As soon as she entered, Baba rushed up to her and to her surprise pulled her into a fierce hug.

'Umm… Baba?' Angel's voice was muffled by his strangling embrace. 'Can't. Breathe. Baba!'

'I'm sorry. I'm just so glad you're alright. Soryu wouldn't let any of us come visit you and we've all been quite worried.' Baba said, peering at her concernedly as he stepped back.

'Really?' Angel asked, disbelief written across her face.

'Yeah. It was pretty brave of you to stick up to that thug like that.' Ota said, coming over to join them.

'It was nothing, really.' Angel smiled at the expressions of wonder on their faces.

'Seriously, kid. I never thought a little thing like you would be able to stand up to anyone like that. From what I heard, you took him down single handed and taught him a lesson he'll never forget.' Mamoru called, puffing away as usual on a cigarette.

'Really? Now, who told you that?' Angel said dryly, raising an eyebrow at the exaggerated tale.

'Angel! How are you? Are you feeling better now!' Angel turned to see Ryosuke bearing down on her, realising who Mamoru's source was. No doubt Ryosuke had exaggerated and decorated the story when he retold it. Stepping neatly to the side to escape his outstretched arms, she giggled as he barrelled into Mamoru, who had come up behind her, causing him to drop his cigarette.

'Hey! Watch what you're doing!' Mamoru yelled as they collapsed onto the sofa behind.

Angel smiled as they extricated themselves from each other.

'Sorry, Miss Angel. I'm so glad you look better.'

'Aww, thanks Inui. Yeah, Soryu's been taking good care of me.' She smiled at the tall figure that had come up behind her as Mamoru and Inui were untangling themselves.

'Oh yeah- I bet you two spent the whole time in each other's arms. Soryu was just waiting for an opportunity to have you all to himself.' Baba teased.

'Yeah right.' Angel replied sarcastically, 'Wouldn't let me out of his sight for a minute. Honestly, the protectiveness was kinda fetting on my nerves by the end.' Angel replied, joining Baba in his teasing of Soryu.

Soryu scowled at them but Angel just laughed fondly at him, squeezing his arm to let him know she was joking.

'Whatever, woman. I was just about to go out now, so I don't have time for this nonsense.'

'Where are you going?' Angel asked, but before he could reply, another voice called out causing everyone's heads to turn.

'Angel! Oh My God! I'm so glad you're ok! I've been worried sick.' Mei Ling rushed up to her and threw her arms around her before Angel could evade it.

She wasn't really used to so much physical contact and shuffled uncomfortably in the other girl's tight grip.

'Ouch! Careful!' Angel winced as Mei Ling put pressure on her wound.

'Careful!' Soryu intervened immediately, pulling Mei Ling away.

Everyone stared at him.

'Oooh! Looks like Soryu's got a crush!' Ota squealed, reminding Angel of a teenage girl.

She winced as Ota and Baba pounced on the opportunity to begin their teasing.

'Mm-mm Soryu, if I had a woman like that by my side, you wouldn't see me out of my suite at all.'

'Watch it.' Angel said with a roll of her eyes. 'Baba, sweetheart, you'd take anyone to bed if they're willing. The only reason we see have the joy of seeing so much of _you,_ is because no one _is_ willing.' She drawled sarcastically, though humour sparkled in her eyes.

'Look at that. She talks now.' Eisuke remarked, coldly.

He'd come in with Mei Ling and had been watching the whole exchange intently. Angel froze as she realised with panic that she'd totally forgotten the meek, timid character she was supposed to be playing. She'd gotten so comfortable with Soryu, neither of them had realised as she'd begun to act herself.

'Surprising what a brush with death will do to your attitude, isn't it.' She replied smoothly, glossing over her faux pas.

Well at least now she wouldn't have to act so meek and pathetic all the time.

'Whatever. Mei Ling, come on. Let's go.' Soryu said with a bored look on his face.

'Hey Angel, we're just going out for a late lunch, I really wanted to try that restaurant you were telling me about the other day. Do you want to join us?' Mei Ling invited, grabbing her hand.

Angel looked up hesitantly at Soryu. Things had been awkward between them as it was and she didn't really want to spend lunch with him glaring at her the whole time.

'Do whatever you want.' Soryu said with a roll of his eyes, walking out the room.

'Hmmm… Maybe it's best if I- ' Angel began, unsure about how to interpret that reaction.

'It means he wants you to go.' Baba chuckled.

Angel raised an eyebrow, clearly not believing him.

'Oh forget about that old grump! I want you to come with me. I want to thank you for what you did with me and I really enjoy hanging out with you!' Mei Ling said fervently, practically dragging her out with her.

'Ok see you later!' The others called, except Eisuke who was still watching her intently.

She didn't like the calculating look in his eyes but before she could think anymore about it, Mei Ling swept her into the car, chattering excitedly.


	22. Chapter 22

'Oh wow, it's crowded here today.' Angel remarked as the bustling crowd in the restaurant jostled them around.

She was incredibly conscious of how close Soryu was to her; pressed up against her back, in order to avoid bumping into the waiters, who were rushing around trying to deal with the busy lunch hour rush.

'Yeah… Come on, let's grab that table.' Soryu said, spying an empty one in the back of the crowded room.

Angel however, stood still, taking in the aromatic atmosphere of the beautiful restaurant. Soryu, deciding she was being too slow, grabbed her by the waist and pulled her along without thinking about it, but Angel's eyes widened in surprise. Wow, he really was quite bossy. But she found that, for some reason, she didn't mind it very much at all.

Angel chatted with Mei Ling as they ate their delicious steamed dumplings. Soryu sat, silent as usual, but his usual cold air had somewhat subsided as he watched the exotic, dark eyed beauty beside him, without realising it. She had all her skin covered up as usual, but she still looked incredibly becoming in the smart blazer and jeans; a silver chain and hoops her only simple accessories. He knew she hated to expose the scars that feathered across her body, but to him she could not be more beautiful, though he refused to admit- even to himself. Her long black hair fell silkily down to her waist and he remembered how soft and smooth it had felt under his touch the previous night. A moment later he sighed and looked away.

He couldn't afford to think like this.

He was looking up at the restaurant scene around him, absorbing the busy, mundane atmosphere, when trouble came knocking. The two thugs that had attacked Mei Ling earlier were back, and obviously here with a sinister purpose. Angel's perceptive senses immediately realised something was wrong when she registered, out of the corner of her eye, Soryu's eyes widening slightly.

'Get down!' He pushed her behind the table and pulled Mei Ling close, shielding her with his huge body. 'Let's go! We're getting out of here.'

Angel crouched underneath the table, all her senses hyper alert, ready to intervene if the situation got out of hand. One hand hovered over the gun hidden in the breast of her blazer but she was reluctant to bring it out until she absolutely had to. Shots rang out and Soryu pushed Mei Ling behind a counter, towards the back of the room.

'Dammit!' He swore loudly. 'I can't believe they're shooting in such a crowded place.'

Confusion erupted in the room as people screamed and stampeded in an attempt to get out. Soryu was too distracted with trying to get Mei Ling out safely, to realise Angel had crept back out into the rapidly clearing restaurant area, trying to help evacuate the citizens. The thugs ignored the screaming masses and headed straight for the back, while Angel expertly provided crowd control: helping those that had been injured and clearing out the room safely. However, right at the back, there was left a little boy, barely 5 or 6 years old, sobbing uncontrollably for his mother.

'Shut that kid up.' The taller thug snarled.

The child, however, still stood uncomprehending and frozen with fear. With a leer the man raised his gun, but before he could do any more, Angel catapulted herself over the table, kicking the gun out of the man's hand as she landed.

'What the-?'

Shielding the child with her body, she pushed the both of them out of the thugs' paths, shoving the child towards the open door. Thankfully, the kid made a run for it and his hysterical mother caught him up in her arms the second he was out the door.

'You little bitch.' The man spat, while his partner levelled a gun at her.

'Hey, i knew you looked familiar. You're the same brat that got in our way last time as well. That's it. You're dead.'

'Well done for stating the obvious, sweetheart.' Angel shot back snarkily, 'But unfortunately, that isn't up to you. Did you really think you could attempt an attack on the life of someone as precious as Mei Ling and get away with it? Not likely.' She smiled and, in one fluid movement, flipped back over the counter they had backed her up against.

BANG. BANG. THUD.

A groan echoed through the empty room. Angel stood up from behind the counter, beaming at the person opposite.

'Excellent work, Soryu. Lovely timing.' She unconcernedly leaped back over the fallen tables, to face the glowering man before her.

The two thugs lay knocked out by her feet and she discreetly kicked their guns under the counter, in case they decided to give them another nasty surprise.

'What the hell were you thinking?' He growled, his quiet voice growing to a crescendo. She winced a little at his anger- he'd never seemed this furious before.

'Soryu, there was a boy- a child. They were about to shoot him. You didn't think I'd stay put in such a situation, did you?' She pouted at him, trying her best to look innocent. Soryu, however, remained unaffected.

'What you did was stupid, reckless and completely irresponsible. Do you have a death wish?'

'I-'

'Shut up. Not a word. You've only just begun to recover from such a serious injury and you go and throw yourself in another dangerous situation without a second thought.' Angel looked abashed and stared hard at the ground, refusing to meet his eyes. If she hadn't messed up with that last incident then he wouldn't think she was so useless. She was perfectly capable of handling those two goons and far worse, but Soryu didn't know that. In front of him all she ever seemed to do was embarrass herself.

'Sorry.' She muttered, frustrated at her helplessness.

'Come now, Soryu. Angel did a very valiant thing. She was more concerned about the safety of the others around her. She only did what she did so that innocent people wouldn't get hurt. Isn't that what you always try to do?' Mei Ling spoke softly, her face pale from the shock of the unexpected attack.

'But what about her? She didn't stop to think even for a second what would happen if she got hurt. What I would-' Soryu stopped abruptly as he realised he was about to reveal the real reason he was upset- if anything happened to her, he wouldn't be able to live.

Angel rubbed her wrist, as the three of them stood in the middle of the devastated restaurant, where the awkward tension was only building.

'I'm fine Soryu. I knew what I was doing and I'm a lot smarter than you give me credit for.' Angel sighed.

She had hoped he might be a little impressed by her, but all she'd done was piss him off.

'_He probably just thinks I'm useless and always get in the way. After all, he did have to come back because of me.' _

However, even as she thought this, Angel began to wonder: why was he _so_ affected by whether or not anything happened to her. His excessive concern made her wonder if his feelings for her were as platonic as he tried to make it seem.

As she studied him carefully, she realised with shock that he was wounded. The thugs' guns had gone off in the struggle and must have hit Soryu.

'Soryu! You're shot!' She gasped, taking in his uncomfortable stance.

The dark blue suit jacket he was wearing had a darker stain, slowly spreading across the arm.

'Tch. It's just a scratch- it'll heal by itself.' Ignoring his protests, Angel removed the jacket and inspected the wound closely.

'Hmm… you'll live.' She announced her verdict, 'But don't think you're going to get off that easy. I'll patch that up for you when we get home, but for now, here.' She tore off a strip of cloth from the bottom of her thin shirt and expertly wound it around his arm, staunching the blood flow.

'That scar!' Mei Ling gasped as she caught sight of the thin, jagged scar that snaked across Angel's midriff.

Mortified, Angel immediately pulled her blazer close.

'It's nothing. Just the result of an accident. I don't like to talk about it.' She said, abruptly turning away, hoping that Mei Ling would drop it.

Thankfully, Mei Ling caught Soryu's warning look and kept her mouth shut, although she looked like she had a lot to say. Soryu turned to where he'd left the thugs, hoping to take them back to his headquarters and interrogate them, but to his dismay, he realised that while he'd been distracted by Angel and his wound, the pair had snuck off.

'_Thank God.' _Angel thought, glad her distraction technique had worked.

The last thing she needed was one of those thugs letting slip the truth about who she really was. She wasn't sure Soryu was ready to hear it yet and she wasn't ready for them to know.

'Aah! Dammit.' He muttered angrily to himself, snatching Mei Ling close as he turned away, towards the exit.

The three of them silently made their way out of the wrecked restaurant, immersed in their own thoughts as the police sirens began to sound in the distance.

AN: Hey guys, hope you're enjoying the story so far! Please drop a quick review to let me know what you think- I read and appreciate every review left on this story! Thank you so much!


	23. Chapter 23

When Soryu, Mei Ling and Angel got back to the armoured black vehicle that stood a street away, they were met by a panicked Inui.

'Sir! You're shot! What happened?' He yelled in alarm, catching sight of Soryu's bandaged arm.

'Those thugs that tried to attack Mei Ling the other day: they were here today. They tried to attack her in the restaurant but I managed to get her out the emergency exit. Don't worry I'm fine. I'd knocked them out so that we could interrogate them, but unfortunately they slipped away.' Soryu explained briefly.

'They attacked you? In broad daylight, out in the open like that?' Inui wondered aloud in surprise.

'Let's get back to the Ice dragons headquarters.' Angel commanded, opening a door for Mei Ling. 'We don't want to be here if they decide to come back and I want to take another look at that wound.' She said curtly and Inui, obeyed immediately, reacting instinctively to the authority in her tone.

'This might sting a little.' Angel warned as she pulled an antibacterial wipe out of the first aid kit and gently swabbed the wound on Soryu's arm.

It was only a scratch and had it been anyone else, she wouldn't have looked at it twice. But when things came to Soryu, she found herself acting like a totally different person. A fierce protectiveness had risen in her and anger towards the men that had done this throbbed at the back of her mind.

They had arrived back at the Ice Dragons office, getting out with relief as the silent tension in the car had been suffocating. Angel waited patiently while Soryu barked swift orders to his men and secured Mei Ling in a safe place, but the minute he'd finished sending Mei Ling to safety, she'd dragged him onto a sofa and made him take his shirt off so she could take a look.

'Tch. It's just a scratch. No big deal.'

'I know, but we have to disinfect or it will get infected.' She ordered.

'But…' Ignoring his protests, she continued to wipe the blood off with the disinfectant wipe.

'Lead bullets aren't good for your body. It could cause problems for you later on.' Kyoichiro remarked as he left Soryu in Angel's capable hands.

Angel expertly tended to it, her gentle, experienced hands deftly patching him up without letting him feel a shred of pain.

They were alone in Soryu's cabin now and Soryu watched her fondly, noting the tenderness she displayed as she tended to him.

'You're so reckless you know that. Jumping out without a plan in front of the enemy like that.' Soryu chided, his voices much gentler than before.

'I had a plan- distract them, get the kid away, don't get killed.' She shot back cheekily, but fell silent as Soryu glared at her. 'Sorry…' she muttered, focusing on her task rather than face the intensity with which he was watching her.

As she worked her blazer had fallen open again and without thinking he lightly ran his fingers over the scar that snaked across her belly. Angel shivered at his touch, dropping the roll of bandages in surprise.

'This scar… Was it your step father who gave it to you?' He asked her, still tracing it with the tips of his fingers.

His voice was quiet but there was a disturbing menace behind it. Angel's heart pounded at his touch and she was so distracted she almost forgot the lie she'd told him about her childhood.

'Huh? No, this was the result of a running into one of those street gangs I told you about.' She said quietly, remembering her cover story.

She didn't like lying to him so she told him the truth, although she still didn't correct his presumptions about her childhood. She had looked away so he wouldn't see the guilt in her eyes, but when her eyes flicked back to meet his, she realised how close his face was to hers. Her breath caught and instinctively closed her eyes, relaxing at the feeling of his soft lips on hers.

Soryu was so overcome by the sadness in her eyes as she told him what he believed was the truth behind her scar that he couldn't help himself and leant forward, swiftly closing the small gap between their lips. His heart throbbed with pity and love for her and for a moment he couldn't care less about his previous inhibitions. He wasn't going to leave her when she looked so helpless and pained. He had kissed her without thinking about it and felt a sense of satisfaction as he felt her leaning into it; the coldness and distance that had been between them since the previous night melting away in the heat of the moment. He shifted closer to her, pressing his lips harder against hers, his good arm snaking around her waist. Angel lifted her hand and entwined into his slick, black hair, pulling him closer.

After what felt like an eternity, they broke apart. Angel studied him silently, panting slightly from their passionate kiss. The fact that he was sitting their topless, with his gorgeous, muscular body still pressed quite close to her did not help her racing heart.

'What was that for?' She asked with a puzzled smile.

'I-er…' Soryu nervously rubbed the back of his neck.

It suddenly struck her how endearing she found this nervous habit of his and was just about to pull him in for another kiss when the door flung open, causing them to jump apart immediately.

'Sorry Sir! Kyoichiro wanted to speak with you, with regards to the matter of what to do about catching the men that did this.' Ryosuke, back from taking Mei Ling to the hotel, barged noisily into the room, bringing them back to reality.

'Err- yeah. Of course.' Without a word to her, Soryu picked up his shirt and left the office.

'He's the same as you, Angel.' Ryosuke said to her after Soryu left.

'What?' She spun around to face him in surprise.

'Miss Lee told me about what you did back at the restaurant. Protecting that little boy? Neither of you wanted innocent people to get involved.' He walked over and sat down on the sofa, next to Angel.

'Soryu wants to protect innocent people? Even though he's in the mafia?' Angel raised an eyebrow in disbelief.

'Pretty unusual, right?' The boy grinned at her. 'But he's been like that ever since he took me in.'

The puzzled expression on Angel's face prompted him to continue.

'My mom got remarried and I never got along with my step dad. So I ran away from home and got involved in a scuffle with the local yakuza.'

'Uh huh…' Angel's eyes dilated with surprise and slight anxiety as she realised how similar the lies she'd told Soryu were to Ryosuke's true past.

That was probably why Soryu had a soft corner towards her. Angel's insides writhed with guilt as she realised how thoughtlessly and easily she'd thought up that lie when there were actually people suffering like that.

'Mr Oh just happened to be passing through and he saved me! And he told them: "If you want to call yourself Yakuza, you should have standards, because if you pick on the weak, you're nothing more than thugs."

'Wow, I didn't know he felt like that.' Angel said admiringly.

'But anyway, I had nowhere to go so he brought me to the office.

'Oh.'

'He still has morals even though he's supposed to be a bad guy. All the guys here were drawn to that part of him.'

'Morals, even though he's a bad guy.' Angel repeated incredulously.

She knew the feeling she'd gotten about him wasn't wrong- she was an excellent judge of character and she could sense it: Soryu Oh was _good_.

'That reminds me- I once heard him say he'd never point a gun at a woman.'

'See! But right now the boss of the Ice Dragons would do anything for money. He's obsessed with money. And Mr Oh is really worried about it lately.' Ryosuke frowned unhappily.

'Does he not get along with the boss?'

'It seems like he does on the surface, but… Our role is determined by the money we pay to the government and Mr Oh is trying to make a lot of money to get on the boss's good side to change the Ice Dragons, little by little.'

Angel sat silent, considering what Inui had said. That's why Soryu was doing the things he was, despite his own ethics- he's not satisfied with the boss's philosophy and wanted things to change. A feeling of pride surged up in Angel. She was so glad that he wasn't greedy and power hungry like every person she'd dealt with over the last 6 years. She knew he was different- otherwise she'd never have fallen in love with him.

'_I love him.'_ She realised with shock. It had taken her about 5 years, but finally she had done it! She'd managed to allow herself to feel- to love- again! A smile crossed angel's face as she realised it but for some reason she couldn't get rid of the nagging fear in the back of her mind.

'_What happens when he finds out who you really are? You're a spy, he's a mobster: it can only end badly.'_

'We're prepared to follow Mr Oh, no matter what!' Inui's exuberant voice snapped her out of her own mental reverie.

'You really admire him, don't you?' She observed with a smile.

'Yes!' He beamed at her happily, pride and adoration for his boss shining in the young boy's face.

Angel's heart swelled with happiness as she listened to Ryosuke gloat about his master. He really was like a loyal little puppy in some respects. She was glad she had learnt about this new facet of Soryu's diamond like personality. With everyday that passed with him, she learnt more about him and only fell deeper in love because of it.


	24. Chapter 24

Angel sat lounging on the sofa with Baba, Eisuke, Ota and Mamo in the executive lounge. A few weeks had passed since the incident at the restaurant and Angel had grown increasingly more comfortable with the other bidders, though there hadn't been much progression in her relationship with Soryu. Ever since their last kiss had been interrupted by Inui, he'd been acting just as cold and distant as before. Angel could clearly see that he had feelings for her but was refusing to face them. Instead, he was trying to pull away.

'_Probably because he thinks he's putting me in danger by being with me.' _Angel thought to sadly to herself, wishing he would stop trying to push her away.

'Why so glum, chum?' Baba asked cheerfully.

He was sitting next to her sipping a cup of wine while she leant against him, legs stretched out on the sofa holding a book which she wasn't actually reading.

'Hmm? Nothing.'

'You've been staring at that same page for the last ten minutes. Either you're the world's slowest reader, or your mind is elsewhere.' Baba chuckled. She lifted her head, which had been resting on his shoulder, and sat up to face him.

'Thinking about Soryu?'

'Yeah… Uh, I need a drink.' She groaned. Baba poured some wine into the empty cup sitting on the coffee table and handed it to her.

'You know, I'm surprised Soryu let a woman into his house. And he made you stay in his arms until the very last minute too!' He chuckled.

Angel's jaw dropped.

'How did you know about that?' She demanded.

Now, it was Baba's turn to look surprised.

'What! I was just joking, but… Are you serious?' Both Mamoru and Ota had stopped what they were doing and looked up to, shocked by the revelation.

'I-uh…' Angel blushed furiously at her foolishness.

'It really is unusual for Soryu to spend so much time with a woman.' Baba remarked quietly, his face more serious than she'd ever seen it.

'I've known him for a very long time and I've never seen him like this before.' Eisuke remarked, 'Must be hiding something very special under all those clothes- no wonder you keep everything hidden.' He smirked wickedly.

'Stop it Eisuke. That's not true and you know it.' She snapped, and his face contorted into a cold glower. But before he could say anything to her, she continued. 'Besides, I really don't think he cares _that _much for me. He- he keeps pushing me away! One moment he's all warm and tender and sweet and the next he's cold and distant again. What the hell am I supposed to think?' She confessed, the feelings that had been tormenting her for days pouring out in a rush.

'Soryu normally hates women- he thinks they're too loud and he detests their perfume. But with you… he's not mean to you at all.' Baba said gently.

'Of course he is!'

'Hmm… how should I put this? When Soryu is around someone he doesn't like, he is completely expressionless, but with you he expresses a lot of his emotions.'

'I think that's just because I'm a good listener.' Angel scoffed, disbelief colouring her voice.

'Nuh uh, kid. In all the years I've known that old grump, I've never seen him act half as nice to anyone else as he does to you. God knows what kinda spell you've cast on him kid.' Mamoru added, shaking his head.

Angel chuckled deeply and unabashedly pulled a cigarette out from Mamo's breast pocket, lighting it with a practised flick of her lighter.

'You smoke?' Mamoru asked, eyes wide with shock at her bold actions.

'Not often- only when I'm super stressed and Soryu's giving me enough of that.' She sighed.

'Wow, you're a lot more audacious than when we first met you. I kinda like this new Angel.' Ota winked at her flirtatiously.

'Audacious?'

'It means-'

'I know what it means, Eisuke.' Angel snapped.

'Yeah, you are.' Baba agreed, watching her carefully. 'I think that's why Soryu likes you so much- even though you seemed so scared at first, you faced him head on. You're much braver in front of him than he's used to. Usually, people just judge him as a terrifying, dangerous figure- no one really takes the time to get to know him.'

'It's strange you're not afraid of him.' Eisuke observed.

'Why should I be? He's never done or said anything to make me fear him. In fact, the impression I've attained from watching him and his colleagues, is that he's a remarkable man. A mobster with morals. I've never seen the like.' Angel shook her head, disbelievingly.

'And what experience do you have with mobsters?' Eisuke asked coolly, catching her off guard.

Angel's head snapped up. Did he know? Eisuke had been treating her very suspiciously, she'd observed, but if he had discovered her secret, there was no way she'd be sitting here. Angel relaxed a little as she realised it was just a casual question, but realised she'd have to be a bit more careful. Her fearless carefree attitude towards her "betters" might not be out of place back in England, but here in Japan, things were a lot more formal.

'No- I-I was just-' Angel stuttered a meek reply, trying to deflect the question.

Fortunately, she was saved by the sudden entrance of Soryu and Mei Ling.

'Oh hello! Look everyone's here.' Mei ling exclaimed happily plonking down opposite Angel and next to Eisuke, who warily drew back a little from the exuberant girl.

Soryu wordlessly sat down next to Angel, much to the delight of Baba and Ota whose relentless teasing began again.

'We were just discussing your love life, Soryu.' Giggled Ota.

'Yeah! Don't think we haven't noticed you making moony eyes at Angel over here.' Baba joined in.

Angel rubbed her head, sharing a look of mutual exasperation with Soryu. As the teasing continued, Soryu quickly put an end to it by pulling out his gun and pointing it at Baba.

'Hey! Hey now! Put that away Soryu- that's against the rules.' Baba said, watching the gun warily.

'Come on now, Soryu. Don't be such a spoil sport!' Mei Ling laughed as Soryu reluctantly put away the gun. 'Tell me, Angel; have you ever fallen in love before?' Mei Ling looked at her earnestly, with her big, round brown eyes filled with pleading.

'Uh…' Angel looked around, awkwardly.

This was unsafe territory.

'Oh come on! You can tell me! We've never had the freedom to fall in love freely before- I want to hear about what it's like.' Mei Ling pestered.

'Well...' Reluctantly Angel remembered her fiancé, a sad smile automatically appearing on her face at the thought of him. 'My first love… He was brilliant.' She sighed, a dreamy look misting her eyes as she delved back into the happy memories of the past which she'd hidden away so carefully for years.

'He was brave and handsome and had the most stunning blue eyes. I always kept asking him if I could paint them, but he could never sit still for long enough for me to get more than a rough outline of him!' Angel laughed slightly as she remembered the childish energy Tom always seemed to possess.

'Sounds like you really loved him.' Mei Ling sighed, wishing she had the fortune to be able to love anyone that much.

'I did. I loved him more than life itself- I still do.' Angel admitted, forgetting about the others in the room as she wandered back down the vista of years.

'If you loved him that much, where is he now?' Soryu asked bitterly.

Angel turned to him with surprise- was he jealous? Over her?

Nonetheless, Angel's face had fallen, sadness emanating from her expressive dark eyes and a dull pain persisting in her heart. She suddenly felt exhausted.

'I bet he moved on to the next cheap whore.' Eisuke chuckled callously. 'Bored of you already?'

'Eisuke. Don't-' Baba began.

SLAP.

The slap resounded through the entire room, everyone silenced with shock. Mamoru's jaw dropped and a cigarette fell, unnoticed from his lips. Angel had moved so fast that before anybody had the chance to react she had slapped Eisuke hard, across his perfect cheek. Eisuke sat frozen to the spot, eyes wide with shock. Never in his entire 29 years had anyone, _ever_, raised a hand on him. He didn't expect a woman, of all people, to be the first.

'_Don't you dare talk about him like that._' Angel hissed, hot tears rolling down her cheeks.

Screw the mission. Screw her cover. She didn't care about any of that right now.

'You don't know anything about him! He was the most brilliant man I've ever had the _honour_ to meet. You could spend ten lifetimes and you would never come close to being his equal. He would never leave me because he _loved_ me. Not that you'd know what love is would you Eisuke. You've never found the head of your beloved in the mail, just 2 weeks before your wedding!' She screamed the last part, hurling the glass of wine across the room before she stormed out the room, leaving a shocked silence behind her as nobody in the room dared to move a muscle.

The heels of Angel's tall boots clacked on the lobby floor as she hurried across the polished marble.

'Angel, wait!' A voice called behind her and she whirled around to see Mei Ling bearing down on her, with something bundled up in her hand.

Wiping her tears and letting her stony cold mask slip easily back into place, Angel faced her as she approached.

'Mei Ling, please. I just need to be alone for a bit. You know, calm down, clear my head.' Angel said with icy coldness, turning back towards the door.

'Wait! I know. I understand. I mean, obviously I can't relate to you right now, I can only imagine how you're feeling. You obviously loved him very much. Here. I brought you my coat and scarf- it's chilly outside and you don't need a cold on top of everything going on.' Mei Ling shyly handed Angel her long, thick coat.

Angel managed a weak chuckle at the girl's touching concern.

'Thank you.'

Donning the apparel Angel stepped out into to the chilly night air, the cool wind immediately calming her down a little. When she put her freezing hands in her pocket she discovered a pair of gloves and quickly pulled them on. She was truly glad for Mei Ling's thoughtfulness- the long coat protected her from the bracing wind and the scarf covered half her face so only her long, black hair could be seen. She could have been anyone; it was nearly impossible to tell and that was just the way she liked it. She was no one- no dark past, no conflicted emotions, no Soryu, no mission. She was just another nameless cloaked figure hurrying through the night.

For Angel, the best part of being a spy was the ability to change her life and who she was in the blink of an eye. Whenever a place or personality gathered too many painful memories all she needed to do was whip out a new passport and change her look. Within minutes she'd melt into the crowd, becoming another faceless figure amidst the numb masses.

Immersed in her thoughts as she strode away from the hotel, Angel was too distracted to notice the two men that were following her. Suddenly a black bag was pulled over her head from behind and her arms roughly restrained.

'Gotcha! The boss'll be very happy to see you!' A familiar voice chuckled mirthlessly in her ear.

AN: Oh my, how suspicious. I wonder who it is? Read on to find out!

Also, please leave a review! Grateful kisses from your favourite bidder to all those who have left a review for me. Thank you!


	25. Chapter 25

The entire room was frozen silent. The shock of Angel's unexpected outburst had not only surprised them, but also, in all honesty, scared them a little. The door near the staircase slammed shut as Angel barged out of the room. For a moment nobody moved. Then, Eisuke silently got up and walked out, murderous rage seething across his face. The moment he disappeared from sight, all hell broke loose.

'What the hell just happened?'

'Her fiancé _died?'_

'He didn't just die: she got his _head_. In a _box_!'

'I've never seen her so wild-'

''What she did to Eisuke- I still can't believe it!' The voices all began at once, creating a cacophonous babble as they all talked over each other. Mei Ling immediately grabbed the coat and scarf she'd left hanging on a chair, as she'd come in, and hurried after Angel, opting to take the elevator so she could catch up.

'Soryu, did you know she was that courageous?' Baba asked quietly, turning to face the younger man who was still sitting silent, deep in thought as he considered the events that had just passed.

'Courageous, brave and passionate- Yes, I had sensed those, but I had no idea she would ever hit Eisuke like that. She looks too small and innocent to even hurt a fly.' Soryu said gravely.

'_She must have really loved that man.' _He thought, his earlier jealous coldness subsiding into a feeling of sadness.

'She did, but can you imagine how much she must love you to finally move on from such a scarring incident.' Baba said seriously, showing for once the maturity that came from his age. 'Go.'

Soryu needed no further prompting. He rose from the sofa and hurried out of the penthouse, taking the stairs two at a time to catch Angel before she disappeared.

As Soryu burst into the lobby, he saw Mei Ling walking back towards the penthouse elevator.

'Where is she?' He asked urgently.

'You just missed her! She left, heading towards down town.' Mei Ling said, pointing down a street to the right of the hotel.

Without another word, Soryu hurried out, taking long, elegant strides to cover the distance faster. To his dismay, just as soon as he caught sight of Angel again, 2 brawny men appeared from behind her and threw a black bag over her head. Their faces were in shadow, so he couldn't see clearly, but he was certain that these were the same men that had been after Mei Ling earlier. An overwhelming rage rose up in him and his eyes hardened, a cold metallic glint in them as he raised his phone to his ear.

'Ahh! The little bitch kicked me!'

Angel had been forcibly dragged into a car, another goon helping to restrain her, as her violent struggle was far too difficult for the first two men to handle. Now, she lay thrown against a cold floor, presumably in some shady part of town, with her hands cuffed behind her and the black bag still in place.

'Take that wretched bag off! Let's have a look at our little prize.'

One of the men roughly pulled the bag off her head and Angel blinked at her surroundings, her eyes slowly adjusting to the light. She was in some sort of dingy basement-like room. The walls and floors were made of concrete and before her stood the very dismayed looking goons that had attacked Mei Ling, with a furious looking man standing behind them.

'You stupid, idiotic, brainless bastards!' The stranger screamed at his men, who cowered in fear at his rage.

Angel winced a little at his shouting and sat up, rolling her eyes at them. Clearly, they had been aiming for Mei Ling and picked her up instead.

_'Great, now I'm caught inbetween this ridiculous power struggle of the two Mafia groups._' She thought with a roll of her eyes, feeling more bored than worried. '_I'll probably have to kill them all_. _Tch what a chore._'

'She's not even the right colour! What the hell kind of a moron do you have to be, to confuse an Indian with a Chinese woman?'

'But boss, she was all covered up so we couldn't see and that coat- it's Mei Ling's, I swear it. Besides, this bitch might be valuable. I swear to god she looks just like that sp-' The man, who'd dared to open his mouth broke off, quaking under the look of livid rage his boss was giving him.

Angel tensed, temporarily worried he might reveal who she actually was. To her luck, no one else seemed to have recognised her yet.

'I don't want to hear it. This is the height of your stupidity. I can't believe it- confusing an Indian woman with a Chinese one. What the fuck kind of an idiot does that?'

'Yeah mate. Right sort of continent though so you get points for trying.' Angel sneered mockingly, unable to keep herself from cutting into their conversation.

She watched amusedly as the man turned his ice cold glare on to her.

'You two: get out there and make sure you keep tabs on Mei Ling. The real Mei Ling. As for you: who the fuck gave you permission to talk, bitch?'

'You really should stop calling me "bitch". It's not polite to address a lady like that.'

'Oooh! A "lady".'

The boss walked over, a nasty leer on his face, and crouched down next to her, his face uncomfortably close.

'Who are you?' She asked, completely unafraid.

'Ever heard of Taizo Arimura? Leader of the Arimura Faction?'

'Well, I'm not Mei Ling so… If you could just undo these cuffs then I'll be going. No need to bother you any longer.' She smiled at him, undeterred by the dangerous situation.

'Not so fast, little lady. You might not be Mei Ling, but I can still think of a few fun uses for you, bitch.' He grinned evilly at her.

'I thought I asked you to stop calling me that.' Angel replied, a frightening menace lacing her polite words.

'Oh yeah? Just what the fuck are you going to do about it?' He asked, lightly drawing a blade over the skin of her cheek, tracing lazy circles on her face.

'This.'

She spat in his face, simultaneously kicking him hard in the abdomen. The man lurched back, wiping off her spit in disgust.

'Why you little-'

The boss re-approached her, hand raised to take a swing when suddenly the door swung open and a cold voice commanded:

'Get your filthy hands off of her.' Angel looked up in surprise to see none other than…

'Soryu!' She exclaimed, astonished by his appearance.

How on earth did he know where she was?

'What the fuck? Where are my-'

'Your guards? Yeah, you should get better ones next time.'

Walking closer to the mob boss, Soryu pressed the barrel of his gun against the back of his head. The boss dropped his knife and Soryu kicked it away. It skidded across the rough ground and landed by Angel's feet.

'What? Don't tell me they're all dead?' He asked, panic rising in his eyes.

Soryu merely pressed his lips together and turned to Angel with an apologetic look.

'Sorry I took so long.'

'I had it under control!' She said sharply, slightly annoyed by the pitying look he was giving her.

She was perfectly capable of handling a situation like this. She softened a bit at the surprised and slightly hurt look Soryu gave her. Of course, he didn't know that. He probably just thought he was being sweet and protective.

'What took you so long?' Angel said in a gentler tone and he smiled.

'Hmmph, so you can talk back to me like that now, huh?' After the look Angel shot him, he hastily added 'I'll let it go- just for today.'

Before he could do anything more, he noticed Angel's eyes widen at something behind him and a voice called out from the doorway.

'Get the fuck away from the boss!' A mobster near the door yelled, waving a gun in the air.

'There's more of you?' Soryu sighed with a bored expression on his face. 'If you want trouble so much, go ahead and join your boss.'

'I'm sorry Sir.' A familiar voice called.

Angel watched in surprise as the mobster entered the room fully, dragging a defeated Ryosuke behind him.

'Inui.' She gasped, fear for the young boy gripping her suddenly.

She hadn't even realised when she'd grown so fond of Soryu's most loyal follower.

'Did you follow me?' Soryu asked angrily, though she could see he was worried too.

'I was worried about you, Sir…'

'I'll say it again. Let go of the boss.' The mobster hissed angrily, pressing the knife harder against Inui's throat.

'…Grrr.' Soryu bitterly lowered the gun and Taizo immediately seized the opportunity to punch him, knocking him off his feet.

'SORYU!' Angel screamed, an intense rage blinding her vision with red mist.

The Arimura boss began to violently kick Soryu, who lay helpless on the ground, refusing to lift even a finger to defend himself lest they fired at Angel or Ryosuke.

'Look's like the tables have turned, brat. The great Soryu Oh, on his knees, helpless before me! Truly, I am the greatest mafia boss of them all.' Taizo cackled, lifting his gun to point it at Soryu's head…


	26. Chapter 26

'AARGGRRRH!'

**BANG**!

'AH FUCK!'

A gurgled scream rang out as the man holding Ryosuke collapsed to the ground, a knife protruding out of his chest. Across the room, Taizo Arimura had also fallen, cradling his injured hand. His gun, which had been shot out of his hand, lay a few feet away.

Everyone turned to look in surprise at their saviour.

'What-?' Soryu gasped in surprise, uncomprehending what his eyes were seeing.

In front of him stood Angel; a vision of fierce, dark beauty. She levelled a bone white gun at Arimura, an icy cold rage burning in her eyes, which had darkened to a deadly black from the intensity of her anger.

Unable to stand the pained cries of her beloved as Taizo mercilessly beat him, she'd made short work of her cuffs and, grabbing the knife he'd dropped earlier, she flicked it with practised ease at the mobster holding Inui; the other hand firing her gun at Arimura. Both hit their targets precisely, knocking the gun out of his hand and instantly killing the mobster holding Inui captive.

As they stood, stunned by this unexpected development, the door behind them swung open and Eisuke, Ota, Mamo and Baba burst in. Guns up and ready to fire they rushed in, only to come to an abrupt halt.

'Angel? What are you doing holding that gun? It's not safe, you don't know how to use it!' Ota exclaimed, assuming she'd picked up one of the mobsters' guns in a desperate attempt to save Soryu.

'It's mine.' Angel stated coldly, using the rest of her efforts to control her rage.

'What? I don't understand…'

'The gun. It's mine.'

Soryu stood up anxiously, coming over to join the rest of them, with Arimura still lying in the corner.

'Angel?...' He asked tentatively.

Angel turned towards him, so glad that he was finally safe that she almost forgot about the others int the room.

'Soryu!' She gasped taking in what a wreck he looked.

Now that he was closer, she could see every one of the painful bruises and cuts that covered his face. Blood ran in rivulets down the side of his face and his smart suit was torn beyond repair. The sight of his bleeding, swollen lip was the last straw for her.

'Right. That's it!'

Tucking the gun back into the waistband of her dark jeans, she pushed up her sleeves and marched over to Taizo. Her eyes had darkened into onyx chips of ice, devoid of emotion or mercy. Ignoring the looks of consternation and incredulity on the faces of the others, she picked him up, as if he weighed nothing, and hurled him bodily across the room.

'HOW DARE YOU?' She roared, marching over to where he lay, gasping for breath. 'How dare you try to hurt the people I love? Did you think you could get away with such a gross invasion of our privacy? Even if it was just me, I may have rather benevolently forgiven you, but the moment you raised a finger on Soryu, you sealed your fate. You should have listened to that idiot of a mobster that worked for you. I'm the wrong person to mess with.'

Taizo cowered away from her merciless blows. Exhausted from the effort of trying to protect himself, he collapsed, trying desperately to crawl away. Angel, however was relentless- too great was her anger at his deeds to let him go so easily. She landed a sucker punch to his abdomen, smiling as she heard the satisfying snap of one of his lower ribs cracking. Her fury poured out into her punches as she pummelled him with remarkable strength and accuracy. He'd not only threatened her, but Mei Ling, Ryosuke and Soryu as well. _Soryu_. With renewed vigour she picked him up and slammed him against the wall, her muscles straining taught with the effort of holding the heavy man up there.

'_Apologize_.' She hissed through gritted teeth. 'Apologize and I might just spare your pathetic, worthless life!' She spat, throwing him at Soryu's feet.

'I-I'm s-sorry.' Taizo choked out, coughing up blood as he lay there, gasping for breath, mere inches from Soryu's feet.

Remembering what he'd been about to do to Angel before he burst in, Soryu simply kicked him and Mamoru stepped up, a pair of handcuffs dangling in his hands.

'N-no wait! You said you'd let me go!' the man pleaded, struggling to get away.

'I said I'd spare your life. You're lucky to be getting off as easily as you did, _sweetheart_. Had you seriously harmed any of my friends, you would find hell's hot torture a sweet, healing balm compared to what I'd have done to you.' Angel snarled, wiping her hands neatly on a handkerchief she'd pulled from a pocket.

The room fell silent for a moment as they all stared at her. The sound of her racing heartbeat filled the room as the blinding rage began to fade from her eyes and she calmed down.

'What was _that_?' Baba asked, his voice a hoarse whisper as he stood, still trying to recover from the shock of the brutality and violence displayed by this girl he'd thought he knew so well.

'Well…' Angel said quietly, looking at the floor, mind racing to keep her tattered cover story in place. 'Like I told you before, Soryu: I had a very rough childhood and left home while I was quite young. Learning to fend for myself, I picked up a few fighting skills and I carry a gun for safety. It's merely for survival: a necessity. You know what these people are like!'

She turned to Soryu, with a pleading look in her eyes, the lies flowing as easily from her as if it was truth. Even so, she knew it was a far stretch. There were too many holes in her story- she'd gotten too close and let too much of herself show. She was vulnerable, exposed.

'I-'

'Cut the bullshit, Angel.' A cold voice called out menacingly, and Angel whirled around to face its owner. 'Tell them the truth- go on Angel. Or should I say: _Agent?_'

Eisuke had backed her up against the wall, relishing with a malicious joy the look of fear and desperation in her eyes.

'Eisuke, _please_!' She whispered urgently, her sharp mind instantly realising why he'd been absent while so much was going down.

'Should've thought of that before you disrespected me like that.' He growled, turning back to face Soryu and the rest, who stood there with confused, uncomprehending expressions on their faces. What the hell was going on?

'While you lot barged in here head on, I took a moment to have a little _chat_ with one of the thugs that worked for Arimura. Turns out Angel has a long history with these kind of people. He told me a few interesting facts about Angel and who she _really_ is. Your little slave here, believe it or not, is not who she claims she is. In fact, I don't think even the people she works for know who she really is. After all, a spy has many faces, isn't that right, _Angel? _Or is that even your real name?'

'A spy?' Baba gasped, shock widening his eyes.

'That's right, a spy. Working with Interpol to bring down the IVC and the black market auctions. Remember all those mysterious cases of the people who'd attended the IVC suddenly being caught and taken down? Well, that's all thanks to this _bitch_ here.' He declared, a smug smirk playing across his handsome features.

'Eisuke-' Angel began, half desperate for him to take pity on her and stop and half wanting to smack that smirk clean off his face.

'What? I don't- _Is this true, Angel?'_ Ota demanded, cutting her short.

Angel just looked helplessly at Soryu whose face betrayed emotions of immense hurt and sadness. She hated the hurt on his face- she could handle anything but the look of pain on the faces of people she loved. That had been her undoing 5 years ago, and all these years later, it was still her biggest weakness.

'Soryu I-' She stepped towards him, reaching out for his hand; trying to make him understand, to see that she did not mean him any harm. For God's sake, she actually _loved_ him.

Soryu, however, automatically stepped back, his face going back to that cold, emotionless mask it had been the first time she'd met him. The sight of that, surprisingly, hurt more than she could've imagined.

'Soryu-'

Ignoring her, he turned around and strode out of the door, his tightly clenched hands the only indication of his grief and anger.


	27. Chapter 27

Angels in Japan

Here's the next chapter. Also i heard that the last chapter was corrupted by all this technical text and stuff, so i've reposted it and it should, hopefully, be fine now. Let me know if there are any more problems

Chapter 27

Angel stood frozen in shock, still staring at the door through which Soryu had disappeared. How could he just leave like that without giving her the chance to explain?

'Well… What should we do with you?' Eisuke asked, smirking cruelly at her. Angel wanted nothing more, than to wipe that stupid look off his face, but she carefully controlled herself. He wasn't worth the energy.

'How could you do that to him? To us?' she asked accusingly, her voice icy and low.

'I did him a favour- he's one of the closest friends I have and if you think I'm going to let a jumped-up little girl take him for a ride like that, then you've got another think coming.' He spat, her ice cold demeanour equally matched by his hot temper. Angel had been advancing slowly towards him but stopped short in surprise. There was genuine care and worry for his friend, in his eyes, something she hadn't expected after what she'd seen of him so far. Changing tactics, she tried again.

'Take him for a ride? That would be the last thing I've would ever do!' She pleaded, trying to get them to understand. 'No- don't look at me like that. Of course it doesn't make sense for he and I to be together, why would an officer of law ever support a mobster? I don't know, alright? But let me tell you this, Eisuke Ichinomiya, you may prize yourself on your fantastic skills when it comes to being a judge of character, or consider yourself _happy_ because you're one of the richest most successful men on earth, but there's just one thing you missed, my dear: _I love him. _There was more to this situation than just profits and our own ends; this is beyond all that. You think he'll be happier now? Now that you've broken his heart? You think that you did him a _favour_\- saved him from whatever evil scheme you thought I'd cooked up. You think you were being a good friend? NO, sweetheart! If you were truly looking out for him, you would have seen how much happier we were together; how he much more he smiled lately. Baba saw that immediately, while you, the person who's known him longest, thought that the most prudent course of action would be to reveal the truth, and _in such a manner_?' Disbelief coloured her words at the thoughtlessness of Eisuke's actions. Did it ever occur to him how devastating the consequences of this would be? For both her and Soryu. Disgusted and hurt, she turned on her heel and stormed out, leaving Eisuke looking at the floor, shame, embarrassment and anger colouring his cheeks.

Soryu stumbled into the car, the pain of realisation beginning to set in. He felt like there was an iron cage around his chest, constricting his lungs so he couldn't breathe. How could he have been so foolish? She'd used him to get what she wanted, and like an _idiot_, he'd fallen for it. Arriving back at the hotel, he went up to his suite and composed himself, before making a call to Simon Lee.

_2 Days later_

Soryu knelt by a suitcase in his office at the Ice Dragons headquarters. He was just about to put his gun in and zip it up when he heard someone softly clear their throat behind him.

Whirling around to see who'd dared to enter without knocking, he nearly dropped his gun in surprise.

'You! What are you doing here?' He said coldly, his voice like an icy dagger. 'How did you get up here?'

Standing before him was Angel, clad in a black tank top and tights, a gun dangling from a holster in the studded black belt, slung low across her hips. She was wearing a pair of high heeled black boots, her lack tresses flowing silkily down to her waist. She looked sexy; he registered unwillingly in the back of his mind. A pair of silver hoops glinted amidst her black locks and he remembered with a pang how much she loved to wear those. These little details he knew about her, only made the pain of her betrayal worse.

'I'm much better than you give me credit for, sweetheart.' She said in English, the full extent of her strong British accent coming through as she spoke freely. She languorously began to walk over but he raised his gun, pointing it at her heart, before she got any closer.

The hurt that immediately flashed in her eyes, pierced him like a knife but he stood his ground. He wasn't going to be played twice. Though she looked composed and unaffected to any other viewer, Soryu could see that her bottom lip was trembling in the effort she was making not to cry. She'd hurt him so bad he'd even broken his personal rules about not pointing a gun at a woman.

'Soryu-'

'Don't.' He warned, though his eyes had softened a little. Oh, how he wished this was all some terrible, cruel joke that the others were playing on him! He wanted desperately to pull her close and hug her, making sure that she'd never leave him again.

Ignoring the gun he was pointing at her, she merely pushed his arm down as she walked closer, pulling him into a tight hug. He stiffened at her touch and tried to push her away, at first, but when she would not let go he gave in, standing still in her arms. They stood still like that for a moment as Angel drew a deep breath to steady herself and blinked back the tears that were threatening to spill over now.

'I heard you were going back to Hong Kong, to marry Mei Ling?' She looked up at him, part of her still hoping that the news Baba had told her might not be true. Her heart sank as Soryu stiffly nodded, refusing to meet her expressive gaze. She took another deep breath and said in a measured voice:

'5 minutes. All I want is 5 minutes to explain and then I shall be gone and you will never see my face again. After all you've done, you owe me that much at least.'


	28. Chapter 28

Angels in Japan

Chapter 28

'5 minutes is all I ask of you.' Angel requested, placing a pleading hand on his chest. Soryu stiffly nodded, but took a step back, distancing himself from her.

'I do not expect you to forgive me, nor will I ask for your forgiveness.' She began, surprising him. Somehow, she always seemed to have control. 'I have done nothing wrong. It is my job to infiltrate and bring down criminal organizations and surely, you would not grudge me that, for, if anything, I should be expressing my anger as yours is the more illicit line of trade.' She looked at him hard and he knew she had a point. If they were arguing about who worked where, she had the upper hand. However, he merely pressed his lips together, the look on his face getting colder although Angel carried on undeterred. 'Yes I lied to you about my profession and there was a reason for that, and Soryu, you must understand- it was before I knew you! It was before-' She broke of biting her lip and he stared at her, wondering what it was.

'Before what?'

'Before I fell in love with you.' She said quietly, her expressive brown eyes filled with emotion. The derisive chuckle he was about to give at her revelation died in his throat as he realised she was being completely sincere. No one could look like that and not be telling the truth.

'Nothing you've ever told me has been the truth, has it?' He asked quietly. 'Your childhood, your step father?' She looked away, answering his question without words. 'You have a highly inventive imagination, I must admit.' He said, raising an eyebrow. In spite of herself, Angel couldn't help the smile forming on her lips.

'What did you expect, darling? I am a spy, after all. Lying's second nature.'

'Alright, fine. You've said all you had to say, now go.' He turned brusquely away from her, slamming the suitcase shut.

'Wait Soryu! There's one more thing… Are you _really_ going to marry Mei Ling?' She asked in a small voice, a sinking feeling in her stomach. Soryu's heart broke at the expression on her face. Surely after all this she didn't expect them to be together? A spy and mobster- it was ludicrous! He sighed sadly- he didn't dare to hope that they may be able to defy all odds and maybe even be _happy_. No, he'd given up on ordinary happiness a long time ago. If there was one thing his life as a mobster had taught him, it was that men like him didn't get- no, they didn't _deserve_ happiness and he wasn't about to ruin her life with his.

'Yes, I will. Mei Ling's father is a very influential member of the Chinese mafia and if I marry her then we will forge an alliance between the two factions. The Ice Dragons and the Bell Crickets will be the most powerful mafia in Hong Kong.'

'Business? That's all? But what about you, Soryu- is that what you really want?' She asked him so sweetly that his heart melted and before she could change his mind further he left, determined not to get in her way any longer.

Angel packed up the last of her things, locking her flat in Tokyo for the last time as she left, heading for the Interpol office for one last time before she got back on the long flight home to England.

'And you're _sure_ I can't convince you to stay.' Director Fukushiwa begged as Angel collected a cheque and finished off the last of the paperwork, drawing Project Mad Hatter's Tea Party to an official close. Having bid her team farewell, she'd come to finish off some of the formalities when Fukushiwa had caught her and begged her to stay. She was one of the most sought after spies in the entire world and her excellent work with the IVC was just a sample of the feats she was capable off. Thanks to the intel they'd received from the auctions, they'd managed to capture and jail some of the most scandalous and corrupt famous figure heads whom they had been after for years. She'd recovered more information in 3 months than they had in 10 years, and it was clearly an effortless job for her. He was desperate to hang on to her: with this little woman his department would rise above all others in the eyes of the Japanese government. Unfortunately, she wouldn't concede. She'd refused his offer with the usual cold politeness she displayed and now she was about to leave.

'I'm afraid not, Director. I'm truly sorry. Now, I must be going.' Was all she said as she swept out of the door, leaving Interpol a changed place in her wake.

As Angel rode back to the hotel, she stared out of the window of the cab, a feeling of melancholy overwhelming her. For years now, she'd remained aloof, cold and distant from everyone. Any person who had known her or worked with her could attest to that. Although she showed everyone a considerable amount of politeness and charm, she was still detached: never laughing, smiling rarely and presenting all together a cold, sophisticated and awe-inspiring figure, though a little intimidating. Over the past three months however, there was a gradual change in her. She smiled so much and even laughed quite often. She'd begun to feel _happy_\- an emotion she'd cut off after Tom's death as she felt she was betraying him by allowing herself to be happy. _'This is Karma', _she thought bitterly, '_This is what I get for betraying Thomas and allowing myself to be happy, for once, with another man.' _She clenched her eyes shut, as if trying to force out the images of Soryu and Tom, which were revolving mockingly in her head. It wasn't fair! If she truly didn't care about Soryu or the other bidders, she could have easily shut down the entire operation. She could have ruined them all to such an extent, that death would seem a better option than facing their bleak, empty lives. Instead she'd betrayed herself, her morals and her work by allowing them to get away with it. She'd convinced Fukushiwa not to shut down Tres Spades and to strike a deal with Eisuke instead, to carefully filter and seize the worst of the criminal scum and contraband, black market good, through the aid of the information released during the auctions. She'd drawn up such a plan that they'd be able to seize the crooks without ever being able to link it back to the IVC or auctions. It would seem like pure coincidence.

After an eternity, the cab pulled up outside Tres Spades and provided a welcome distraction. She just had to get a few personal belongings, which she'd left in Soryu's suite and then she'd be gone.

As she stepped into the cool, expensive lobby of Tres Spades, a voice called out to her.

'Angel?'

She turned to see her ex-co-workers staring at her uncomprehending. '_Oh that's right! I forgot to tell them.'_ She realised what a strange and unfamiliar sight she must be presenting, in her expensive white Armani suit and expensive accessories. Now that she was no longer trying to blend in to the shadows, she'd dressed up with the usual simple elegance attributed to people of her stature and importance. She was filthy rich and far more important than the "King" himself. It wasn't everyday they got to see people who were more extravagant than Eisuke, so the fact that they could now and that it was none other than their humble co-worker had them stunned.

'Angel, what's going on? What are you_ wearing_?' Erika snapped, unhappy by this sudden development.

'Watch your tone, Miss.' Angel said in a clipped voice, her Japanese now overlaid by a heavier English accent. Now that she wasn't pretending, she didn't have to bother with trying to fit in. 'Sakiko, Chisato.' She nodded to the two girls, who were staring anxiously at her. 'I'm afraid there's been a rather sudden development, so I've had to resign. I'm sorry about how abrupt all this is but I can't stay any longer. Before you ask me why, let me tell you. I'm not allowed to say. But know this, I truly value the care, concern and friendship you have shown me over these past few months and I shall never regret it. If there is anything I can ever do for you, do _not_ hesitate to ask.' She handed them both a business card and an apologetic smile. They were clearly unsatisfied with her answer but they didn't push it and instead sadly pocketed the cards and watched as she turned to leave; their small, timid friend now a Lady, exuding commendable sophistication and authority.

'Now, wait jus one moment. Where the hell do you think you're going? Just because you trapped some new, rich boyfriend, doesn't mean you can just go off and leave the rest of us to do the dirty work, you whore.' Erika screeched, grabbing Angel's arm and painfully digging her long fake nails into her flesh. Angel didn't even wince but merely seized the offending arm and twisted it painfully behind her back.

'Aaah! Let go! That hurts!' Erika cried.

'Tut tut.' Angel said calmly, slightly relaxing her grip on the arm but still holding it securely in place behind Erika's back. 'Assaulting an Interpol Agent- that's a serious, national crime, you know.' She stated matter-of-factly.

'What? A spy?' Everyone gasped at the sudden revelation.

'Yes, a spy. Hence the reason I was working here: it was merely a cover for my real mission. However, now I have finished and I really must take your leave, though it's been _delightful_ knowing you, Erika.' She drawled sarcastically, letting go of the trembling girl, who immediately scampered away, her sycophantic friends hurrying behind.

'I'm sorry about lying to you,' Angel sighed, her voice much gentler as she apologized. 'Unfortunately, it's my job and I do what I have to do to make this world a better place.'

'It's alright Angel!' Sakiko piped up comfortingly. 'We'll always be here for you, no matter what you have to do.

'Thank you. That means a lot.' With one last smile, Angel headed up to the penthouse to quickly grab her things.


	29. Chapter 29

Angels in Japan

An extra long chapter to make up for those I missed. I probably will have to start updating on just the weekends now as school's started seriously and workload is upping with the GCSEs so close. Thank you to everyone who reads or reviews the story. Shout out to Snowee who always leaves an amazing review. Thank you so much, darling!

Love M xxx

Chapter 29

Baba walked along the corridor on the 51st floor, a worried tension etched on his face. He was thinking about Soryu and Angel. After Eisuke's spectacular new revelation about who she really was, things had gone haywire. Soryu had practically lost his mind and in a fit of anger he'd agreed to Simon Lee's proposal that he marry Mei Ling. '_It's absurd,' _Baba thought, '_He doesn't love her- anyone can see he's head over heels for Angel, though he'd die before he'd admit it. And poor Mei Ling- she's desperate not to get married. This is terrible! What should I do?' _

As he strode past Soryu's old suite, he thought he suddenly heard a noise come from inside. He peered inside to have a look and was astonished to see Angel studying a photograph intently, an open, packed suitcase on the sofa beside her.

'That frown really ruins your pretty face.' Angel's head snapped up at the unexpected voice behind her.

'Have you come to kill me?' She asked, regarding him coolly, not a hint of fear in her eyes.

'What!' Baba looked aghast. 'Why would I-'

'You lot are surprisingly lenient with your enemies.' She remarked, realising he had no intention of harming her. She set down the gun she had taken out, and had been hiding behind her back, as Baba watched in shock. Turning away from him, she tossed the photograph she'd been holding back into the suitcase and quickly shut it, but not before Baba caught a glimpse of Soryu's face smiling up at him.

'Is Soryu the reason, you're so upset?'

'Don't be ridiculous. Why ever would I be upset over him?' She asked coldly.

'Same reason you were looking at his photo so sadly before I walked in. You looked a bit like a wilted sunflower.'

She sighed, suddenly feeling incredibly tired.

'How does it matter, Baba? He's going to marry Mei Ling and at least now he'll be happy with her. They're so alike. She'll keep him happy and anyway, the new alliance means Soryu's guaranteed a position as the next boss of the Ice Dragons.'

'Don't give up before you've even tried. You think Mei Ling's better for Soryu, even though you're in love with him. It might be difficult as you two lead such different lives but he _loves_ you. The only time he ever smiles is when he talks about you.'

'Baba it's never going to work. I'm a spy- he's a mobster. It was stupid of me to even hope.'

'You can't give up before you even try. It could work out.' Baba persisted.

'People like me don't get happy endings!' She yelled, pulling off her white blazer and top to reveal the scars that littered her body, like delicate runes on an ancient, strong wall. 'I don't get happiness. I get _these_. My heroes badges. My stripes of honour.' She spat, and Baba felt weak at the pain in her eyes. Her skin bore what looked like horrific torture marks and yet, she'd never once let on the pain she'd been through in her life. She'd been so _strong_.

'These are… I … Is this why you keep all your skin covered up constantly?' He asked softly.

'My skin is a map of my experiences, and my experiences have not been pretty.' She looked down at her mutilated body with disgust.

'You're beautiful though. Soryu could see that and I don't know why you can't.' He said and she was surprised at the anger in his eyes. 'He doesn't want to marry Mei Ling and god knows Mei Ling is heartbroken at the prospect of getting married. The problem with the both of you is that you refuse to let yourselves be happy. I know you've had a difficult past, and I've seen how dear your fiancé was to your heart, but surely the fact that you developed feelings for Soryu, despite all that, shows that there is something much stronger here. You've lost your love once and there was nothing you could have done about that. Now, today, you have a second chance at love and you're letting it slip through your fingers? _Again? _ I know it might be difficult given how different the lives you two lead are, but I don't think it's something you can't overcome.' Angel knew he was right. She loved Soryu. A feeling she'd never thought she'd ever experience again after Tom's death. Despite all she'd done, this man here wasn't ready to give up on her, so why should she give up on her own love.

'But what can I possibly do? He's probably married her by now.'

'Well, now that you've finally come to your senses, leave the rest to me.'

'Eisuke?' Angel and Baba looked round in surprise as the other bidders and Inui entered the room. Eisuke had a mischievous smile on his face and Angel knew he was up to something.

'Why would you help me? I was the one who brought the Interpol down on you. Besides, I thought you hated me…' She asked suspiciously. The friends she'd made here were too good to be true. She still had trouble believing it.

'I don't hate you. Well, I do, but I like Soryu more and if a no-good, stuck up little girl is his ticket to happiness, then I'm damn sure gonna make sure he gets it. He deserves better than what he's had.' Eisuke said passionately and Angel suddenly had a newfound respect for the arrogant man.

'Damn, kid. It's not that I'm not enjoying the view, but we got a plane to catch and you'll give the pilot a heart attack dressed like that.' Mamoru said and Angel realised that the men had been staring, captivated by her gorgeous breasts which were barely constrained by a sexy bra she'd actually gotten as a gift on a mission to save a Victoria's secret fashion show from a terrorist attack. '_Boys will be boys.' _She thought with a smile as she pulled the shirt back on, while the others looked away blushing.

5 hours later they landed in Hong Kong airport where Angel expertly navigated the familiar surroundings.

'Have you been here before?' Ota asked in surprise but Angel just smiled enigmatically at him.

'I still can't get over how different she is.' Ota whispered to the others when Angel went off to get through passport control. 'And now that she's finally out of that awful uniform, it's easy to see how beautiful she is, despite the scars.' Ota smiled impishly as he remembered the sight of Angel's beautiful body, clad only in trousers and bra.

'She's got this whole sophisticated, but kick ass aura around her: totally different to the shy, timid little thing we first met.' Mamoru agreed as he blew out a puff of smoke.

'I think that's why Soryu was so attached to her. She's not like the other weak minded, money hungry women that usually cosy up to him.' Baba put in. They fell silent as Angel came back to join them.

'What happened?' She asked as she approached.

'Hmmm? Nothing. We were just talking about what to do next.' Mamoru said quickly and she shot him a suspicious look.

'Take Inui and go to this address. Baba, Ota, come with me.' Eisuke instructed.

'Wait! Where are you going? And what's at this address?'

'You'll see when you get there.' He said cryptically, before disappearing outside. With an irritated sigh, Angel strode off in the opposite direction to hail a cab, leaving Inui to hurry after her to keep up.

The address they ended up at had nothing but an ordinary looking office building.

'Huh? There's nothing here.' Inui said, disappointed.

'Come on, might as well go and take a look inside. Nothing's going to happen if we stay here.' Angel said as she strode unafraid, towards the entrance. Before she could enter, a familiar person emerged and called out to her.

'Over here you two!'

'Mei Ling?' Angel crossed her arms warily. Mei Ling knew who she really was no and Angel wasn't sure how she'd react. After all, her father was a mob boss and Angel was a threat.

'You came all the way here for Soryu, right?' Mei Ling asked, not a hint of grudge in her eyes.

'Yes…' Angel said, still a little suspicious. The tension was growing and Angel awkwardly looked away. After all, she had come to tell the man Mei Ling was about to marry that she loved him. Not exactly the best way to make friends.

'I know! Eisuke told me! Now, hurry up and come with me.'

'Huh?' What was happening? Mei Ling really wasn't fazed at all and Eisuke had obviously set everything up already. Still on high alert, Angel decided to go with it. Even if it was a trap she could certainly handle herself against them.

A few minutes later they're inside the building, which Angel now knew to be the Bell Cricket's headquarters.

'Mei Ling said Mr Oh is in the back room- over there.'

Angel hurried, along the deserted corridor to a door at the end. Her heart began to beat faster and she hesitated a little. What if Soryu, didn't even want to see her? She'd feel like such a fool…

However, the door they'd been heading for opened, and Soryu himself came out, flanked by two black clad men on either side.

'Soryu-' She began to call out, when she noticed something glinting on his wrists. _'Handcuffs? What the…' _She thought to herself.

'You!' Soryu's eyes widen with surprise at the sight of her, but then he purses his lips and begins walking away.

'Sir, what happened? Where are you going?' Ryosuke asked anxiously.

Suddenly a strange man slips past them and mutters something to the two guards beside Soryu.

'Yes sir!' Angel watched in astonishment as the men hurry off somewhere, leaving them with the strange man. '_What the hell is going on_?' she thought angrily, frustrated at her helplessness.

'Come in, please.' The man said, opening the door to the room from which Soryu had emerged. Reluctantly Angel and Ryosuke followed him in.

'Phew! That was a tough act- even for me!' The man was speaking in fluent Japanese now, Angel noted with surprise.

'Who are you?' Inui demanded.

'What you still don't know?' He asked.

'Alright Mitsunari, gig's up. Now do you want to tell me what the hell's going on and what Soryu's doing in _handcuffs_?' Angel demanded. Her perceptive senses had quickly caught on, though she was unamused by the act. Until Soryu was safe, she couldn't focus on anything else.

'W-what? What's going on?' Inui asked, frightened as Baba began to peel the realistic skin mask away from his face.

'Do you like it? Ota made it for me.' Baba said proudly. 'OK! Ok! Don't glare at me like that! I did all so we could help out that guy over there with the frown on his face. Sheesh! You two really are perfect for each other.'

Despite the serious situation, Baba and Soryu were acting like their usual selves and Angel threw up her hands in exasperation.

'Does somebody want to tell me what's going on?'

'I think I'll leave the explaining to Sor. A guard won't come by for a while, so you two go ahead and talk. Come along Inui.'

'But!' Inui began.

'Don't do anything stupid.' Baba winked at them, before dragging Inui outside with him.


	30. Chapter 30

Angels in Japan

Chapter 30

'Why are you here?' Soryu asked curtly, though Angel could see the worry in his eyes.

'Because… There's something I needed to tell you.' Angel said hesitantly.

'I thought we talked back at my office?'

'I couldn't say it then…'

'Then make it short.' He gives in with a resigned sigh, his gaze sharp as a blade.

'Listen… Before I tell you I need you to know that you don't have to reciprocate. I understand if you want to be with Mei Ling… if you love her and marry her… I just needed you to know this because I couldn't bear going around with you believing that I betrayed you or used you. So I'm not asking you to do anything- I just wanted to tell you how I feel.' Soryu cocked an eyebrow at that. _'What on earth does she want to tell me? I've never seen her get this worked up before.' _He wondered as he took in how flustered she suddenly looked.

'I… _I love you._ I know I told you before that I fell in love with you, but I wanted you to know that I mean it. Wholly and irrevocably. With _every_ fibre of my being._'_ She looked up at him, emotion darkening her almond shaped eyes. Soryu looked away, an unrecognisable emotion passing across his face.

'_Oh God. Now I've done it. Just gone and embarrassed myself in front of him. He obviously doesn't like me- I'm just a nuisance to him. Why did I ever listen to Baba.'_ She thought nervously, cheeks burning with humiliation.

'…I said no to the marriage.'

'What?' That was not the response she'd been expecting.

'It's not going to happen anymore.'

'Hmm… yeah, I'd surmised that much from the fact that you're being escorted round the Bell Dragons' building in handcuffs. But _why_?'

'I don't know… I guess, I couldn't stop thinking about you. I've never seen you as upset as you were that day in my office. You seemed so sincere…'

Angel reached up and touched his face, the love in her eyes undeniable.

'Soryu…'

'You got the best of me.' He said with a bitter chuckle.

'I never meant for you to get hurt.' She said softly. 'But why on earth are you in handcuffs?'

'Simon was understandably furious. I had gone back on my agreement and made him lose face. So I offered myself up in exchange, so that the Bell Crickets don't start a feud with the Ice Dragons.' Despite his impending death, Soryu was wearing a look of extreme calm. Angel on the other hand was starting to get extremely worked up.

'Don't make that face. I don't regret anything.'

'But-!'

'You just won't shut up, huh?' He laughed at the familiar passion, which he'd often noticed in her fiery eyes that was finally coming out. Chuckling quietly, he bent over her and planted a sweet kiss on her soft lips. It was a light fleeting kiss, like the one she'd first given him. completely different to the deeply passionate kiss they'd shared in the Ice Dragons' headquarters back in Japan. It was over as abruptly as it began and Soryu turned away and left, leaving a bewildered Angel staring at his retreating back.

There was no way anyone was going to even _try_ to harm a hair on his head while she still had breath in her body. A fire blazing in her heart and a new determination in her eyes, she resolutely marched out of the room, a new plan already forming in her mind.

The room was dimly lit by a single, bare light bulb, dangling from the concrete ceiling. The whole room was made out of cement; the lack of warmth and dull grey colour reflecting the terrifying activities that took place there. In the centre was a makeshift, but sturdy, platform with a noose hanging from a beam above. Two guards escorted Soryu down to the execution room, leaving him at the hands of the executioner once there. Listlessly he walked up to the platform, his mind occupied by memories of an exotic woman who'd changed his life more in the past few months than he could've ever imagined possible.

'_I've got moments to live and all I can think about is _her?' he thought incredulously, realising how much she meant to him. How was it that this mysterious, fiery little figure had somehow managed to break down the strong walls he'd fortified his heart with? '_I love her_.' He realised sadly, regretting that he would never get an opportunity to tell her.

The hangman threw a black bag around his head, roughly pulling him to the centre of the stage.

Suddenly, there was a loud BANG as a gunshot rang out in the almost empty room. Soryu heard a thud as, presumably, the executioner collapsed next to him. Still blinded by the black bag over his head, he froze in surprise.

_What the hell was going on?_


	31. Chapter 31

Angels in Japan

Chapter 31

Angel stormed out of the building like a woman on a mission, leaving a confused Baba and Inui to run behind her to keep up.

'Whoah! Wait Angel! What's going on?' Baba huffed, panting as he chased after her.

'Soryu's decided to sign his own death warrant, but that's definitely _not_ going to happen- not on my watch.' She said furiously, not even looking at him as she tried to flag a cab.

'Wait Angel! Eisuke has a plan.' Baba tried to argue.

'Screw his plan. He's probably going to try and negotiate with them.' Baba looked away guiltily and Angel knew she was spot on. 'The Bell Crickets may appear as a "moderate" faction but Baba if you knew the kind of things that happened down there then you'd have nightmares for years. There's all kinds of dirty illicit affairs going on but no one's ever had enough evidence to bring them down. I'm about to change things. Baba with me. Inui inform the others and tell them to be here in 1 hour. I overheard the guards saying Soryu's execution is scheduled for 3:00 pm so we gotta beat them to it.' The authority in her voice left no room for negotiation. Reluctantly climbing into the taxi Baba asked,

'You've got a look in your eyes. What are you up to?'

'You'll see.' She smiled, though there was a certain malice beneath it.

_'She looks like an Avenging Angel.' _Baba thought.

'Xhang? It's me. Listen, I've got some news. Yeah it's pretty big: I think I've found a way to bring down the Bell Crickets. Meet me at HQ in ten and bring a team. This is the last time Simon Lee terrorizes anybody.' She hung up, a violent smile playing on her lips.

They shortly reached a beautiful glassy building, which Baba guessed to be Interpol Headquarters. Angel was out of the car before it had even stopped moving and Baba raced to catch up with her as she disappeared into the building. He followed her down a convoluted winding route that eventually led to an ornate set of doors, which opened up into an elevator.

Angel punched a series of buttons and Baba watched in amazement as the panel slid open and a panel opened up with a screen displaying the Interpol logo. As a retina a scanner flashed across her eyes, she pressed her thumb down into a sensor pad, just like she had in the office in Japan.

'Interpol agent. Class 1. Senior agent. Code name: Avenging Angel. Clearance level: Priority One. Briefing level, room 116, please.' She said clearly in fluent Chinese.

'Welcome agent.' An automated male voice responded.

'Avenging Angel?'

'Really? Of all the things you could've noticed, _that's _the one you pick up?' She asked in disbelief.

'Brilliant name. Earth's mightiest hero and all that?' He teased as she rolled her eyes, ignoring the last remark.

'You didn't think my name was really Angel, did you?'

'What is it then?' He asked keenly, but she just smiled enigmatically and tapped her nose to signify that it's a secret.

Before he could pester her further, the elevator doors opened and she strode confidently out into the long, cool corridor, hurrying down it for a few paces before stopping at a door labelled Room 116.

The moment she opened the door a dark shape hurtled towards her, nearly knocking her over.

'Whoah!' She exclaimed staggering back a few paces as someone pulled her into a tight embrace. 'Alright Xhang- I was only away for a few months!' She pulled away as her partner scowled at her.

'4 months and not even one phone call!'

'I don't usually keep in touch…' She fidgeted uncomfortably at this sudden and unexpected display of affection. Out of the corner of her eyes she could see Baba watching with an expression of amusement. Registering the put on Xhang's face, she allowed him a tiny smile.

'Oh my goodness. Is that a _smile_?' He gasped, the other members of her team coming up to join them and watching in amazement as well. 'What did you do to her?' Xhang demanded of Baba.

'Nothing!'

'I've worked with her for slightly over a year and I've only seen her smile once or twice. Now she comes back after a few months with you and it's like she's a totally different person. Gave me a free smile and all.' He teased.

'Alright, that's enough. We've got work to do and not much time to do it.' She snapped irritably, taking control of the situation.

'Ah now there's the Angel we know and love.' Xhang whispered to Baba, though she still heard and shot him a look of fond exasperation.

'Now we all know that the Bell Cricket's are one of the most scandalous and dirty organization to have ever disgraced the beautiful city of Hong Kong. Well, I've discovered their hideout and have sources that can infiltrate them with ease.' She began to sketch out a rescue plan, the other Interpol agents listening to intently to every word. Baba stood by, admiring the skill and authority she was displaying, still unable to get over the fact that this was the same timid and frightened young lady he'd met so many days ago. Now all traces of meekness or hesitation had disappeared as she confidently laid out an intelligent plan.

'Baba, could you please call up Mei Ling and ask her to get out of there and go somewhere safe. I don't want innocent people involved, and now she's free at last.' Angel thought fondly of the bubbly young girl, who'd always looked so tired and unhappy whenever her father was around.

'Yes Ma'am.' He grinned at her and went off to make the call.

'All right, gear up. We leave in ten minutes.' Angel walked into one of the gear rooms and changed out of the expensive suit she was wearing, into tight fitting black gear, so she could fight and move freely. _'This isn't going to be pretty_.' Angel thought grimly as she pulled on a bulletproof vest and stocked up on ammo. Sliding a knife into her combat boots, she placed a gun in her holster and strode out.

They moved efficiently as one unit, quickly surrounding the Bell Cricket's office undetected. The other bidders met them outside, in an alley near the Crickets' office.

'What the fuck are you doing?' Eisuke snarled, irritated that Angel had usurped his plans.

'My job.' She stated coldly, undeterred by his anger. 'Sorry Eisuke, I'm sure you had a brilliant negotiation lined up, but we've known Simon Lee for a much longer time than you. The man's a monster who's somehow managed to keep a clean image.

'Yes, it's true. The Bell Crickets are a faction I have been working on exposing for years, and the terrible things that go on there- well, there are very few cases I've seen of people this heartless.' Xhang said grimly, coming up beside her.

'What kind of things?' Eisuke demanded, still not buying it.

'Human slave trade; organ trafficking; illegal animal poaching; countless accounts of the sexual and physical abuse of young girls and children. And those are just a fraction of their activities.' Angel said, her jaw tight with anger. No one knew the truth about the Bell Crickets and she was determined that people find out. Not to mention that they'd dared to threaten Soryu. People couldn't threaten the ones she loved and get away with it- she'd always made sure of that.

The other bidders looked shocked at this revelation and gave in obediently, following Angel's orders.

The team of Interpol officers surrounded the area around the building, waiting for their signal. Angel slipped in undetected, through the back door, Eisuke and the other bidders following closely. Her precision and intelligence as she calculatedly infiltrated the heavily guarded headquarters, showed the men what had enabled to become one of the best in her profession.

Simon Lee walked casually along the long thin corridor, leading to the execution room. With the infamous Soryu Oh out of the way, he would practically have control over the Ice Dragons. The current boss was so power hungry and corrupt, Simon knew he'd have no trouble convincing him to join forces with the Bell Crickets, and together, they would give crime and terrorism a whole new meaning. Soryu had been the only obstacle- trying to keep the Ice Dragons "good". Hah! The notion was ridiculous. _'This is the mafia, boy.'_ He thought maliciously, overjoyed at having brought Soryu to his downfall. '_There's no room for "good". Only the ruthless and smart will succeed- the rest is just collateral damage.'_

As he triumphantly, walked along the basement level, there was a sudden violent explosion and he screamed as the wall behind him blew apart. He sprinted towards his office, which was located on the same floor and was the most fortified part of the entire building. Throwing himself inside, he slammed the door shut, panting heavily.

'Tut, tut, tut. _So_ predictable.' A voice behind him drawled lazily. He whirled around, fear spiking in his heart. 'You take all the fun out of it, darling.' An unfamiliar, caramel skinned woman leaned against a bookshelf on the wall next to him, a pout on her perfectly painted, luscious red lips.


	32. Chapter 32

Angels in Japan- A kissed by the baddest bidder fanfiction

Thank you so much to everyone who has left a review. I'm delighted you're enjoying the story. In response to a question I had: I do plan on doing other, shorter stories based on Angel and Soryu or MC and other bidders, but if this fanfiction is popular enough and people want me to, then maybe I could do a longer 'Living Together' sequel fanfiction, later on, where the whole story behind Angel's past is revealed and we meet the guy responsible and all that. What do you think? Please leave a comment or review about your thoughts or opinions.

Thank you!

Love M xxx

(Warning: It's a _little_ bit violent. Nothing too bad though.)

Chapter 32

'What? Who the fuck are you and how did you get in here?' Simon asked aghast. Very few people, even amongst his own men, knew about his secret office in the sub levels of the Bell Crickets' offices. Most people only knew about his main office on the top floor of the office. He was shocked and a little frightened at this sudden intrusion.

'Honestly, honey, surely you can come up with something a little more original than that.' The woman rolled her eyes at him, completely ignoring the gun he'd pulled out. 'Now, let's cut to the chase darling. Time is short and I'm not in the mood for games. You have something of mine and I'd like it back.'

'Oh? And what might that be?' He asked coolly, lowering his gun. If this stupid woman wanted to walk straight in to his lair, then that was up to her. She had no idea what she's messing with, he thought cruelly to himself.

'Soryu Oh.' Her eyes had darkened and there was a dangerous glint in them, now.

'Him? Oh I see… you're in love with him are you?' He asked derisively, chortling uncontrollably. Angel's eyes narrowed slightly but she didn't make a move.

'What I have to do with him, Mr Lee, is my own business. Now, you and I both know you're in a tight corner, Simon. That explosion out there? That was just a distraction to get _you_ in _here_. Even as I speak, you've got Interpol agents surrounding the entire place, and I've pointed out to them all of your right hand men. Even if, by some miracle, you manage to escape from here, we'll be able to extract enough information to bring down every last link to the Bell Crickets ever made and you will be the most wanted man in all of Asia.'

'So what now? Are you going to make me plead for my life? To offer you Soryu in exchange for my safety?' He jeered, ridiculing the thought that this small woman would ever pose a threat to him. '_Nothing but a pretty face.' _he thought as he moved to bring up a knife, which he'd been hiding behind his back, into her abdomen. Moving faster than he thought physically possible, she counteracted his action and whirled to the side, shoving him from behind and twisting the arm holding the knife painfully behind his back. She pushed him down onto his desk, his face pressed painfully against a sharp metal paperweight. Blood trickled down his cheek, pooling on the mahogany desk.

'Not quite. An exchange- yes that I do plan on making, but not for Soryu or your life.' He struggled futilely against her strong grip, grunting in frustration. 'how about this? I'll promise to kill you fast and clean if you save me the hassle of ransacking this place and just point me to the documents I seek.' She said amiably.

'Never.' Simon hissed, his face red with the effort of his struggle.

'Alright sweetheart, your choice. Although you'll regret this attitude once I'm through with you. 4 years of torturing the worst of criminal scum means I've got a few inventive tricks or two up my sleeve. And for a man like you… Well, it'll be my honour to avenge every little girl you've raped; every person that's been scarred for life because of the trauma you've inflicted on them. And Soryu… If there's one thing you should never, _ever_ do, it's to hurt the people I love.' Tears blurred her vision as she remembered the horrific images of the children and men and women who had been tortured and abused in ways too painful to even remember. Just the images had been enough to disturb her, and after everything she'd been through, that was really saying something. She gave his arm a hard wrench, feeling it break like wood under her hands. He screamed out in pain but she gave him one last hard to kick to make sure he couldn't go anywhere with his incapacitated legs. Cuffing his hands together, she dragged him out to the corridor and tossed him to another agent, who'd come running down the corridor, with Eisuke, Baba, Ota and Mamoru at his heels.

'Whoah! Why is he screaming?' Ota asked, staring at the man who seemed to have nothing more than a small scratch on his face, but was screaming, curled up on the floor as if in unbearable agony.

'Oh he's just being a wuss. I broke his arm and maybe dislocated his knee? It's nothing compared to what he's got waiting for him back at Interpol.' She said casually. The others looked slightly shell shocked but continued to follow her, jogging down to the execution room, where Soryu was scheduled to be hung in 10 minutes.


	33. Chapter 33

Angels in Japan

Chapter 33

BANG!

Mamoru kicked down the door to the execution room, swiftly taking down the unlucky guard who'd turned around in surprise. Up on the stage, they could see Soryu with a black bag around his head, and his ordinarily immaculate suit, torn and stained with blood. Without hesitation Angel took down, with faultless aim, the executioner standing besides him.

Soryu stood unmoving, shocked by the sudden change of the situation. Although the black bag meant he couldn't see her, he recognized Angel's voice the moment she spoke.

'I'm sorry I took so long. I just had to have a word with Simon Lee before I came to your rescue.' She leapt up onto the stage and pulled the bag off his head, eyes widening as she took in his face. As she'd expected, Simon had had some fun with him first and Soryu's handsome face was swollen and painted with a myriad of blue bruises and cuts from where he'd been hit. Anger and pain rose up in Angel at the state of the man she loved so much. She pulled him close, hugging him tightly as if that alone would protect him from all the harm and pain in the world. As she buried her face in his broad chest, tears rolling down her hot cheeks, Soryu bent towards her, until his cheek rested next to hers.

'Don't cry! What are you doing here anyway?'

'You stupid, reckless, mindless idiot! What the _hell_ were you thinking giving yourself up like this? Didn't you think for one _second_ what I would do without you? Does it not matter to you at all that I love you?' She demanded furiously, her initial concern and worry now replaced by an overwhelming anger at his thoughtless actions.

'I'm sorry.' He said quietly.

'I know you think you were doing it for- Wait what?! Did you just _apologize?'_ She asked as her mind finally registered what he'd said.

'I'm truly sorry for making you worry so much.' He said softly. She'd picked the handcuffs open and now he was free to pull her into him, holding her tightly against his huge frame.

'Well...I…' Angel was speechless. She'd never in her wildest dreams imagined that he'd _apologize_.

'But why did _you_ come with them? You could've waited, safe at home while they busted me out of here.' He said in a slightly annoyed tone, worried that she'd unnecessarily put herself in danger. She pulled back abruptly from his embrace with an indignant expression on her face.

'Wait at home? Sweetheart, I'm the one who pulled off this entire rescue mission. If I'd left it to Eisuke he'd have tried to negotiate with Lee and probably would have wound up here, next to you. Why do you _always_ underestimate me?' She complained with a pout. As they'd been wrapped up in their own little bubble, happy to be reunited, the other bidders had made short work of the few guards in the room and now came to join them.

'Don't make that mistake Soryu. Your girlfriend there is one scary bad-ass. You should've seen the way she organized this whole thing and she took down Simon Lee single handed!' Ota exclaimed in a slightly awed tone. Soryu stared in disbelief at her. He realised that even though he might think that she needed protection and was fragile, she'd certainly proved she could handle herself better than any man he knew.

'Kid over there's smart. And plenty resourceful too.' Mamoru admitted gruffly, ruffling her hair as he joined them on the stage.

'I had a lot of help.' Angel admitted modestly. 'Now come on, Soryu we'd better take care of those wounds and Interpol Agents will be flooding down here to raid Lee's private office. After all that's where all the juicy stuff is hidden. Now we'd best get out of here before they spot you.' Angel twined her fingers around Soryu's hands and they left the execution room. As they wound their way through the debris outside, Angel sent the others ahead, through an inconspicuous exit, promising to join them in five minutes. Heading out the front door, she wove through the chaos of mobsters and Agents seeking out one in particular.

'Xhang?'

'Angel! Are you ok?'

'Yeah I'm fine. I got Simon- I handed him over to Leah a little while ago. I just wanted to thank you for all your help and for not asking any questions. I know it must have been weird when I turned up in the office after months of no contact with a strange man by my side-'

'Yeah. A thief too.' He chuckled. He'd recognized Mitsunari Baba immediately but had said nothing, knowing that whatever Angel had done, she'd have thought it over carefully.

'Yeah…' She looked at the ground at a loss for words.

'Don't worry about it.'

'Thank you, Xhang. You've been a brilliant friend and partner.' She gave him one last farewell handshake and turned to leave.

'And hey Angel,' he called from behind, 'Whoever he is I hope he's worth it.'

'How do you know there's a guy?' She asked incredulously.

'Give me _some_ credit. I may not be as amazing as you but I am quite perceptive. Just promise me you'll be careful. It doesn't bode well that you've fallen in love with a mobster and I just don't want you to get in trouble.'

'I'll be careful.' She promised as she returned to the other bidders and Soryu at last.


	34. Chapter 34

Angels in Japan

Chapter 34

'Well, the weather's suddenly worsened and it's quite late now so we can't leave until tomorrow morning.' Eisuke said, hanging up from a call he'd made to his pilot.

'Oh that's just great.' Ota huffed with a pout.

'You could stay over at my place, tonight.' Angel suggested. The others exchanged glances.

'Angel… you do realise there's like 5 of us.' Baba said carefully.

'Sweetie, I think we should have enough space- I've got a five bedroom apartment and Soryu can share with me.' She said, slightly offended. They were so arrogant that even now they couldn't believe how rich she actually is.

'What?! S-Share?...' Soryu blushed red and cast his eyes to the ground as the others guffawed at his embarrassment.

'It's not like we haven't done it before…' She asked incredulous at his reaction. '_Jeez, how immature…' _Shaking her head in exasperation she turned back to the group. 'Fine, Baba, seeing as Soryu's so embarrassed about it you can room with me instead.' She winked flirtatiously at him.

'…I' Baba looked suddenly terrified and before he could formulate a full answer Angel felt herself being lifted up from behind.

'You are _never_ rooming with another man again, as long as I'm around.' A low voice growled in her ear.' She turned her head to smile up at Soryu, pressing her cheek against his.

'Well, now that that's sorted let's go. I'm bored standing here.' Eisuke complained, unimpressed by the new couple.

'Alright, it's only a short distance from here.' Angel said, leading the way to her home in Hong Kong.

'Here we are. My home away from home!' She announced proudly, sweeping into a lavish penthouse suite with a stunning view of the city.

'Wow! It's beautiful. And exquisitely decorated.' Ota remarked, taking in the modern and classy interior of the beautiful apartment.

'Thank you. It's the only house outside of England or India that I've paid this much attention to, because it acts as sort of my base when I'm working in Asia. I keep popping in and out quite frequently, so yeah. The bedrooms are that way, you've got ensuites but there's the common bathroom over there. You've got a deck out there with a pool but it's a bit chilly for a dip. Feel free to explore, except that room,' she said pointing to a door in the right corner of the penthouse. 'That's off limits.'

'Why? What do you keep in there- hidden corpses?' Baba teased, heading straight towards it.

'Baba! NO!' She chased behind him but before she could get very far, Mamoru blocked her way, allowing the others time to open the door.

'Oh. My. Goodness.' Baba stated in shock.

'Oh my god. The one place I tell you is off limits, you're determined to enter.' Angel huffed in annoyance. Defeated she entered the room where the other bidders had assembled.

'But why didn't you want us to see this?' Soryu asked softly, pulling her close to him.

'Because it's awful and there's Ota Kisaki and… uhhh!' She groaned in embarrassment and frustration, hiding her face in Soryu's chest.

It was a wide, open room, with a stunning view of the brightly lit city. In the centre of it stood a large easel, with a barely started painting on it and several paintbrushes and well used tubes of paint littering the table next to it. All around the room were stunning paintings of various images- some beautiful cityscapes and watercolour landscapes, other paintings capturing snapshots of beauty and innocence such as a little boy gambolling with a puppy or a little girl with her hair braided with a beautiful assortment of wildflowers. There were prints and rayograms and a multitude of sketchbooks, some of which lay open to reveal painfully detailed drawings and sketches.

'…Angel…These are amazing.' Soryu whispered.

'You have a real talent.' Ota agreed, lightly running his fingers over some of the paintings and admiring the finesse of her brush strokes.

'I can't imagine why you'd want to hide these from us,' Baba began, before spotting something that made his jaw drop.

In the far corner of the beautiful room, stood the source of Angel's embarrassment, which ironically enough happened to be the one she took most pride in as well. It was a series of beautifully rendered paintings, depicting a man and a woman, entwined in various passionate and revealing poses. The sensual paintings portrayed passion and love and lust in such a powerful way that anyone who looked at them would stop and think for a while about what sheer joy the painter must be experiencing in her life for her to have the audacity to allow emotion to be felt in such a way. How dare she feel so much love and passion, when their lives now appeared so mundane in comparison? The stunning pieces of work were the crowning jewel of her collection and would certainly have gone for millions, Baba noted, if she had sold them.

'They're terrible.' Angel insisted self-deprecatingly. Her art must look like a child's doodle when they were all used to seeing Ota's amazing pieces.

'Are you joking?' Baba asked bewildered. 'These are fantastic. You shouldn't keep them locked away in here.' Angel smiled shyly.

'One new talent after another. You're just full of surprises, aren't you?' Ota asked laughing. 'If you were a dog, you'd win the most medals at the talent show.'

'Ignore him. These are pretty good kid. Though it does make me wonder what was going through your head when you painted those.'

Mamoru asked gruffly, gesturing at the erotic art.

'It's a coping mechanism.' She said quietly, turning to leave the splendid room.

'Soryu, come here. Let me take care of those wounds.' Angel said softly, pulling him down onto the large sofa in the centre of the hall. Once they'd had a fill of her art and been through pretty much every single sketchbook, the other bidders had decided to finally give them a little privacy. After a brief squabble over who gets which bedroom- Eisuke appropriating the largest for himself, of course- they'd all gone off to bed. Opening a first aid kit, she gently dabbed at the cuts on Soryu's face, wiping off the blood crusted around them. He winced a little at the stinging touch of the Dettol.

'Sorry! I'm almost done.' She blew gently on the wounds and finished with a few plasters and quickly stitched up a particularly nasty wound on his shoulder.

'Thank you.' He said quietly as she worked in silence.

'For what?'

'Everything you've done for me, ever since I met you.' Angel stopped stitching him up and looked at him, his dark grey eyes unnervingly close and full of sincerity.

'Soryu, without realising it, you've done so much more for me than I could ever hope to repay.' She said earnestly, tears filling in her eyes as she breathed a sigh of relief. Ever since she'd met him she'd laughed and smiled and felt happier than she had in years. She might be called Angel but he was her saving grace: her real guardian angel. Heart pounding, he raised his hand to brush back a tendril of hair that had escaped her ponytail and stroked her cheek. She looked up at him through her long, dark eyelashes and before she realised, his lips were on hers, enveloping her in a passionate and hungry kiss as he let his inhibitions and worries go and kissed her freely for the first time. It was the deepest kiss they'd shared and when they came back up for air, Angel's heart was beating so fast she was afraid it might leap right out of her chest.

'You came all this way to Hong Kong for me and did so much, and I still haven't told you.' Soryu said with a smirk.

'Told me what?'

'That I love you.' She gave him her signature 100 watt smile, her face lighting up with such sheer joy, as if he was the best thing in the world. Unable to resist he pulled her into another deep kiss.

'Careful! Your shoulder…'

'Fuck that.' He growled, his voice hoarse with lust.

'Wow, that's the first time I've ever heard you swear.' She remarked, sort of pleased that she provoked such an intense reaction in him.

'You bring out my carnal side, and we've got all night to test just how wild it can be.'

'Whoah!' She yelped a little as he swiftly picked her up, as if she weighed nothing, and carried her bridal style to her bedroom.

The next day, Soryu left early in the morning to sort out a few things with his boss, regarding the Ice Dragons. Finally free of the relentless teasing of the other men (apparently they'd been louder than she'd realised last night) she escaped to her office to make a call.

'Hello Director, it's Angel.'

'Angel! I'm delighted to hear from you again.'

'I was wondering if that job you offered me the other day is still available? I would like to take you up on that offer.'

'…' There was a brief pause and Angel could hear a muffled yell of excitement in the background, before Fukushiwa answered again, tone serious as ever.

'Of course, Agent. Take the week off: you've earned it. But I expect you in early on Thursday ready to tackle the new Arum Shinrikyo case. We're breaking new ground here and I could do with your eagle eye.'

'Thank you, Director. I'll see then.' She hung up with a smile. Looks like she'd be staying in Japan a little longer then.

_The End_

AN: Hey guys, guess this is the end of Angels in Japan. It's been brilliant writing it and reading your reviews. Thank you so much to everyone who read and left a comment or review. I will be doing shorter pieces with Angel and Soryu, now that you know the premise of their relationship, and also bits with other bidders and the MC. If you have any ideas or head canons let me know- I'm always looking for inspiration! Also, maybe after a month or something, I'll start another big story for the living together sequel of Angel and Soryu where we get more info on her past. Let me know what you think and thank you again!

Love M xxx


	35. Chapter 35

**Angels In Japan Series- Read in this order:**

Angels in Japan Main Story

Karaoke Night

His Jealous heart

Angels in Japan Epilogue

Christmas Magic

Let's have a colour fight

Final Author Note

I am currently in the process of updating and editing the story, making a few changes to the chapters to improve it and consolidate the plot. I'm afraid to say that I do not currently have plans for continuing the Angels in Japan series, hence why I wrote the sub stories in place of a long sequel. Thank you very much to all my readers and reviewers- I still read and greatly appreciate all comments and feedback you guys leave me. Thank you so much for reading this series and I hope you loved it as much as I enjoyed writing it.

Love M xxx


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